


\? 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap.L.Q3Copyright No. 
Shelf..^:V.i..5' 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 



TOURIST, 



POCKET MANUAL 



TRAVELLERS 



THE HUDSON RIVER, THE WESTERN CANAL 

AND 

STAGE ROAD TO NIAGARA FALLS 

DOWN 

LAKE ONTARIO AND THE ST. LAWRENCE 

TO 

MONTREAL AND QUEBEC. 

COMPRISING ALSO 

THE ROUTES TO LEBANON, BALLSTON, AND 
SARATOGA SPRINGS. 

FOURTH EDITION, ENLARGED AND IMPROVED. 

NEW-YORK : 

PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, 
NO. 82 CLIFF-STREET. 



1835. 



r. 



1X3 



Nzr 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1835, 

By Harpek & Brothers, 

In the Clerk's OlHce of the Southern District of New- York. 



X 



P R E F ACE 



Flattered uy the great sale of this little book 
in former seasons, the publishers now issue it with 
alterations and additions adapted to the present 
season. 

Pretending only to accuracy as a reference, it 
goes into no elaborate detail, but points out to the 
tourist the principal objects of interest on his 
route ; and at the same time gives such occa- 
sional statistical information as will prove interest- 
ing and convenient. 

The arrangement of the several steamboat, stage, 
canal, and railroad lines will be found classed in 
their proper places, as well as the table of dis- 
tances, (fee. 
May, 1835. 



Rates of Fare in Hackney Coaches in New -York. 

If the driver and stranger disagree as to distance, 
the street-commissioner will decide. 

For taking a person any distance not ex- 
ceeding one mile $0 25 

For taking one person any distance ex- 
ceedmg a mile, and within the lamp and 
watch districts 50 

For every additional passenger ... 25 

For carrying a passenger to the new 
alms-house, and returning 75 

For every additional passenger, and re- 
turning 37|- 

For conveying a passenger around the 
first or Sandy Hill tour 1 00 

For conveying a passenger around the 
second or Love Lane tour 2 00 

For conveying a passenger around the 
third or Lake's tour 2 50 

For conveying one or more passengers 
around the fourth or Apthorp's tour, with 
the privilege of detaining the carriage two 
hours 3 50 

For conveying one or more passengers to 
Harlaem, and returning, with the privilege 
of detaining the carriage two hours . . 4 00 

For conveying one or more passengers 
any distance not herein mentioned or de- 
scribed, and returning, for every mile which 
they may proceed from the said stands re- 
spectively 50 

Children under 1 4 years of age half price. 

The above is an extract from the Corporation Laws 





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STEAMBOATS FROM NEW-YORK. 



NEW-YORK, ALRANY, AND TROY LINE. 

Day Linefro7n the foot of Barclay-street. 
Night Line from the foot of Courtland-street, 

Erie Capt. James Benson. 

Albany " J. G. Jenkins. 

Champlain " A. Gorham. 

North America .... " Lathrop. 
De Witt Clinton .... " Seymour. 

Ohio " Bartholomew. 

Constellation " Cruttenden. 

Constitution " Hoyt. 

Robert L. Stevens ... " Dean. 
One of the above boats leaves New-York daily, at 7 A.M., and at 
5 P.M., for Albany, Troy, and the intermediate places. 
Leaves Albany daily, at 7 A.M., and 4 P.M. 



For Singsing, Peekskill, and Newburgh Lines, see daily news- 
papers. 

RAILROAD LINE. 

For Philadelphia, via Bordentoum, from Pier No. 1, North River. 

Independence Capt. G. N. Diehl. 

Swan " C. Seymour. 

Thistle " Van Pelt. 

A boat of this line departs three times each day (except Sun- 
day) at 6 and 10 A.M., and 12 M. 

PEOPLE'S LINE. 
Frojn the sayne Pier, via New-Brunswick and Trenton. 

New-York Capt. Swan. 

Leaves every day at 6 A.M. 

NEW-YORK AND BOSTON LINE. 

From Pier No. 4, North River, near the Battery, Monday, Wed- 
nesday, and Friday, at 5 o^clock P.M. 

President Capt. E. S. Bunker. 

Benjamin Franklin ... " R. B. Coleman. 

From foot of Fulton-street, E. R., Tuesday, Thursday, and 
Saturday, at 5 o'clock P.M. 

Providence Capt. S. Thayer. 

Boston " W. Comstock. 



FOR BOSTON, VIA NEW-LONDON AND NORWICH. 

Foot of Beekman-street. 

Gen. Jackson Capt. Coit. 

Will leave every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at 5 o'clock, 
and Saturday mornings at 10 o'clock. Stages will be in readi- 
ness at Groton to convey passengers to Stonington. Also at 
Norwich to convey passengers to Worcester and Boston. 



NEW-HAVEN LINE. 

From the foot of Beehnan-street. 

Superior Capt. J. Stone, 

Splendid " B. Stone. 

One of these boats leaves daily at 7 A.M. (except Sunday). 



HARTFORD LINE. 

New-England .... Capt. Harrison. 
Water Witch .... " Vanderbilt. 
A boat departs daily at 5 P.M. from the foot of Beekman 
street. 



CHARLESTON LINE 



Columbia Capt. Coffey. 

William Gibbons ... " Wright. 
Leave alternately every Saturday afternoon at 4 o'clock. 



NORWALK AND BRIDGEPORT LINES 

From the foot of Market and Catharine streets. 

Fairfield Capt. Peck. 

Nnnrod " Brooks. 

Leave every day (except Sunday) at 6 A.M. 
Boats leave Fulton Market daily for Flushing, Hallet's Cove, 
Throgg's Neck, New-Rochelle, Glenn Cove, Cold Spring, and 
Shrewsbury. 

There are several other boats plying to different places from 
New- York, for the time of departure of which, as well as those 
above enumerated, the most sure way is to refer to the adver- 
tisements in the daily newspapers, as their arrangements are 
5ubject to frequent alterations. 



PRINCIPAL HOTELS IN NEW- YORK. 

Location. Keepers' JVames. 

City Hotel No. 113 Broadway C. Jennings. 

Atlantic Hotel No. 5 Broadway M'Neil Seymour. 

Adelphi Hotel Cr. Beaver-st. & Broadway. .Mrs. Ward. 

Mansion House No. 39 Broadway W. J. Bunker. 

National Hotel No. 112 Broadway Carr & Groat. 

Franklin House Cr. Dey-st. and Broadway. .Nfewton Hayes. 

American Hotel Cr. Barclay-st. & Bro'dway . Milford. 

Washington Hotel Cr. Chambers-st. & Br'dway James Ward. 

Pearl-street House No. 88 Pearl-street Flint «fe Bacon. 

RflrrHv af TTntPi ) Stramboat landing, foot of ) Harrison and 
carciay st. tioiei j Barclay-street \ Benson. 

Clinton Hotel Beekman-street 

Exchange Hotel Nos. 8 and 10 Inroad street. ..Howard. 

Eastern Pearlst House Cr. Pearl and Ferry streets. . .Foster. 

Holt's House Cr. Water and Fulton streets Holt. 

New-York Hotel No. 1G2 Greenwich-street — Dean, 

Walton House No. 326 Pearl-street S. Backus. 

Congress Hall Broadway A. Sherman. 

PRINCIPAL HOTELS IN ALBANY. 

J.ocation. Keepers' JVame^ 

Eagle Tavern South Market-street L. Crultenden. 

American Hotel No. 100 State-street I.Thomas. 

City Hotel North Market-street Chapin. 

Mansion House North Market- street Huntley. 

Adelphi Hotel Cr. .Market <fc State streets. .Cross. 

Bemenl's Hotel No. 82 State-street C. N. Bement. 

Park-Place House Park-Place Landon. 

^^''To.tl!^.''!"!"^?!" i No. 555 South Market-st. . . . Whelpley. 

Fort Orange Hotel No. 519 South Market-st... .E. Foot. 

Montgomery Hall South Market-st. . . . Chapin. 



ROUTE FROM PHILADELPHIA TO 
N E W-Y O R K. 



PASSAGE UP THE DELAWARE. 

The People's Opposition Line goes by way of 
Trenton and New-Brunswick ; and the Rail-road 
Line as follows : 

After starting, the ship-house in the Navy-yard 
will be seen opposite. A number of ship-yards and 
three or four glass-houses will be noticed ; also a 
shot-tower, and a number of tall spires, which appear 
conspicuous among the great mass of buildings. 
The boat moves on in the " even tenor of her way," 
and the traveller soon finds himself at 

Burlington, 18 miles from Philadelphia, which, 
like most of the villages along the Delaware, fills a 
very interesting page in the history of the Revolu- 
tion. It is a very handsome town, beautifully located 
on an inclined plane, and many of the buildings dis- 
play much taste. 

Bristol, nearly opposite, presents to view a num- 
ber of handsome buildings, with extensive and beau- 
tiful gardens attached. After proceeding 10 miles 
farther, the boat arrives at 

Bordentown, a handsome village, situated on an 
elevated bank. Here the passengers take cars on 
the Camden and Amboy Rail-road^ and after proceed- 
ing a short distance, the seat and residence of the 
Ex-king of Spain, Joseph Bonaparte, who now 



12 PHILADELPHIA TO NEW- YORK. 

Styles himself the Count de Survilliers, is seen on 
the left. Passing on through several small towns, 
the car arrives at 

South Amboy, the terminating point of the rail- 
road, which is 35 miles in length. Here the steam- 
boat lies at the wharf in readiness to proceed down 
the Raritan River ; and as soon as the passengers can 
be transferred from the cars, she gets under way 
and proceeds to 

Perth Amboy, which is directly opposite, across 
the river. There is little here to attract notice. 
Some shipping generally lies at the wharves, but the 
place does not wear a very business-like aspect. 

Elizabethtown Point, within 15 miles of New- 
York, is the next stopping-place. The village of 
Elizahethtoicn is two miles inland. 

The boat now enters the broad, beautiful bay of 
New-York, and Fort Lafayette is seen between 
Long and Staten islands, in the passage to the sea 
called " The Narrows." On the right is seen Castle 
Williams and Governor's Island, on the left are 
Elhs's and Bedlow's islands, which are both fortified^ 
and in front an immense, almost innumerable, quan- 
tity of shipping lying at the wharves, with an ex- 
tended background of lofty buildings, among which 
the towering spires of the numerous churches scat- 
tered about the city appear very conspicuously. 

New-York is the largest and most populous city 
in the United States, and has an unrivalled location 
as a commercial city, at the junction of the East 
and Hudson rivers, on an island of 15 miles in 
length by 1-^ in width. It is now built nearly in a 
triangular shape, and extends about 3 miles on each 
river. The principal portion of shipping-business is 
transacted on the easterii side of ^he city, as that 



PHILADELPHIA TO NEW-YORK. 13 

part of the harbour is best protected from prevailing 
storms. The East River, opposite the city, is about 
half a mile v^^ide, and the North River something more 
than a mile. The principal streets run north and 
south, and are crossed at right angles by streets but- 
ting on each river. Broadway^ a handsomely-built 
avenue, about 3 miles in length and 80 feet in width, 
is the fashionable promenade of the city, and is 
generally crow^ded in pleasant weather w^ith every 
description of persons and natives of almost every 
clime. Here you see " nice young men with gold- 
headed canes, just returned from their travels : foreign 
gentlemen of great distinction and superb mustachios ; 
full-fledged heirs sporting their figures and their cash; 
brisk minors panting for their majority and for early 
distinction ; and geniuses of the first water, who ex- 
hibit themselves in their most intellectual, interesting, 
and abstract cast of expression. All shapes, and 
hues, and conditions, and distinctions ; all varieties 
of beauty and of ugliness, of wealth and of poverty, 
pride that exhibits itself in a new coat, and pride 
that peeps through the torn drapery of an old one, 
from the millionnaire down to the poor sweep, — you 
may see them all in Broadway. The aristocratic 
coach, and the lowly dust-cart, the barouche and 
the wheelbarrow are constantly passing each other 
by on this grand thoroughfare — the great highway of 
the several fifteen wards of this noisy and bustling 
city." 

The principal places of public amusement are the 
Park, Bowery, and Richmond-IIill Theatres ; Peale's 
and the American Museums, and several gardens, of 
w^hich Niblo\s and the Castle are decidedly the most 
pleasant. The city contains 120 churches, many of 
which are beautiful buildings, and constructed in a 
B 



14 PHILADELPHIA TO NEW-YORK. 

chaste style of architecture. The hteraiy and scien- 
tiiic institutions in the city are Columbia College, 
estabhshed 1754, Medical College, Lyceum of Natu • 
ral History, Historical Society, Atheneum, Society 
Library, Academy of Fme Arts, National Academy 
of Design, Law Institute, Mercantile Library Asso- 
ciation, &c. About 300,000 tons of shipping, com- 
prising many of the most elegant and fast-sailing 
ships in the world, are owned here ; about seventy 
newspapers are published, and there are several ex 
tensive book-printing establishments in the city. 
The population of the city by the census of 1830 
was 202,589, and is now estimated at about 250,000. 
The lirst fortilied settlement was made here in 
1615 by the Dutch, one year after the settlement of 
Albany. 



ROUTE FROM NEW-YORK TO 
ALBANY. 



[References. — * Places at which the regular steamboats, 
running between New-York and Albany land. — E. S. East 
side of the river. — W. S. West side of the river. — Distances on 
the river will be ascertained by referring to the Map of the Hud- 
son which is connected with this work. — Distances on the canal 
will be seen by referring to the table at page 47.] 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

The Hudson River was first discovered, Septem- 
ber 4, 1609, by Henry Hudson, from w^hom it derives 
its name. It rises 250 miles north of Nevs^-York, in 
a mountainous country on the confines of Canada, 
between Lakes Ontario and Champlain, and may 
justly be regarded as the Thames of America. It 
is a noble river, abounding with scenery of the most 
subhme, picturesque, and romantic character ; not 
surpassed, for variety and grandeur, by any in the 
world. 

> At the time appointed, the boat moves from the 
•wharf, " like a thing of life," and the stranger finds 
himself in the midst of a varied and splendid scene. 
On the right he has New- York, with its Battery, and 
Castle Garden ; on the left Jersey City and Hoboken, 
and on the south a view of the Narrows leading to 
Sandy Hook, and a far view of the Atlantic Ocean, 
22 miles from the city. Directly opposite tlie Bat- 
tery is seen Governor's Island, on which is situated 
Castle WiUiams. The Quarantine ground at Staten 



16 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

Island is also seen in a southernly direction, and its 
white buildings form a striking object in looking 
down the bay. As the boat proceeds, on the right 
are seen the old State Prison (which is no longer 
occupied, as the prisoners have been removed to the 
new prison at Singsing), Fort Gansevoort, and the 
Episcopal Theological Seminary, built of gray hewn 
stone. On the left the shady walks of Hoboken, 
the cottage on the " Elysian Fields," and Col. Ste- 
vens's mansion on the promontory called " Hoboken 
Point" arrest the attention. A short distance above, 
the hills of Weehawken are seen. Weehawken, the 
romantic beauties of which have inspired the sprightly 
muse of Halleck, is the celebrated duelling-ground, 
and the spot wliere the fatal duel between Col. Aaron 
Burr and Gen. Hamilton was fought, 1804. It is 
3 miles from the city, and its retired walks and con- 
venient solitude have created its notoriety as the 
place where " affairs of honour" are generally settled. 
A neat marble monument was here erected to the 
memory of Hamilton ; but it has been removed within 
a few years, his remains having been interred in 
Trinity churchyard, beneath a fine monument, en- 
closed in an iron railing. 

The Palisadoes commence at Weehawken, and ex- 
tend about 20 miles up the western side of the river. 
These are a range of trap-rock (the altitudes of 
which are from 20 to 550 feet), which form almost 
one impassable barrier, presenting nearly a perpen- 
dicular surface. 

The Lunatic Asylum (E. S.), 7 miles from the city, 
is built of hewn freestone. The situation is beau- 
tiful and commanding. 

Harlaem (E.S.). A small village containing a 
church, three stores, a blacksmith's shop, &c. The 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 17 

ridge of highland which extends across the island is 
called Harlaem Heights, on which, during the revolu- 
tion, a line of fortifications w'as thrown up quite 
across to the East River. 

Fort Lee (W. S.), on the brow of the Palisadoes, 
300 feet above the level of the water — this fort was 
evacuated in 1776. 

Fort Washington (E. S.). The ruins of this for- 
tress are on the summit of a high hill, 12 miles from 
the city. This fort was surrendered by the Ameri- 
cans to the Hessians in 1776, together with 5^600 
men. 

Spuyten Duyvel Creek (E. S.), 13 miles from the 
city. This creek derived its name from the follow- 
ing circumstance. When New-Amsterdam (now 
New-York) was in possession of the Dutch, Peter 
Stuyvesant, then governor, sent Antony Van Corlaer, 
his right-hand man and sounder of brass, alias, trum- 
peter, on an important message up the river. On 
liis arrival at this creek, having no means of passing 
it, he paused in much perplexity : but his zeal to ac- 
complish the mission was not to be overcome by the 
want of a boat, so he very heroically threw off his 
coat and made a vow he w^ould cross it " spuyten 
duyvel." " It was a dark and stormy night when 
the good Antony arrived at the famous creek (sagely 
denominated Harlaem River) which separates the 
island of Manahatta from the mainland. The wind 
was high, the elements v/ere in an uproar, and no 
Charon could be found to ferry the adventurous 
sounder of brass across the water. For a short time 
he vapoured like an impatient ghost upon the brink, 
and then, bethinking himself of the urgency of his 
errand, took a hearty embrace of liis stone bottle, 
swore most valorously that he would swim across en. 
B3 



18 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

spijt en Biiyvel (in spite of the Devil) ! and daringly 
plunged into the stream. Luckless Antony! Scarce 
had he buffeted half-way over when he was observed 
to struggle violently, as if battling with the spirit of 
the waters — instinctively he put his trumpet to his 
mouth, and giving a vehement blast — sank for ever 
to the bottom!" — Knickerhocher, p. 232, 

Philipsburgh (E. S.), 17 miles from the city, con- 
tains a church and several houses. 

Fort Independence (E. S.). Directly opposite this 
fort the Palisadoes are of greater height than at any 
other point. 

DoBBs's Ferry (E. S.) 22| miles from the city. 

Tarrytown (E. S.). Major Andre was captured 
at this place when returning from his visit to Gen. 
Arnold, and on his way to the British lines, Septem- 
ber 23, 1780. The tree under wliich he was taken 
was struck by lightning on the very day the news 
of Gen. Arnold's death was received at Tarrytown, 
July 31, 1801. Strange coincidence! It was a 
white-wood tree, and uncommonly large, being 26 
feet in circumference and 111 high. 

Tappan (W. S.). Andre was executed about a 
mile from this village. The spot where he was 
buried is still pointed out and frequently visited, 
although his remains were disinterred a few years 
since and taken to England. 

Nyack, a small village a little north of Tappan. 

Haverstraw (W. S.), a short distance above 
Nyack. 

SiNGsiNG (E. S.), 33 miles from the city. The 
new State Prison is located on the bank of the river 
at this place. It was commenced in 1825, and has 
been tenanted nearly 6 years. Its dimensions are 
44 by 480 feet : it has a double row of cells, built 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 19 

back to back, four tiers high, and 200 in each tier; 
making in all 800 cells. It is built of hewn marble, 
quarried on the premises. The whole work was 
performed by the convicts. They are now building, 
and have nearly finished, two extensive wings, which 
extend from the main building to the wharf. The 
disciphne is that of the Auburn prison, probably the 
best now in use. 

Sleepy Hollow (E. S.), a little above Singsing. 
This is the place where Washington Irving locates 
the scene of his tale of the same name, in the 
" Sketch Book." 

Grassy Point (W. S.), 1 mile south of Stony 
Point. There is a fine mansion here belonging to 
Mr. Piatt, of New- York. 

Stony Point (W. S.), 40 miles from New-York, is 
a bold, rough promontory, with a lighthouse on its 
summit. It was fortified during the American war, 
and taken from Gen. Wayne by the British in 1778; 
but retaken the same year. 

Verplanck's Point (E. S.), opposite, was also the 
site of a fort. There is a splendid mansion, lawn, 
arbour, &c. situated upon it, and occupied by Mr. 
Philip Yerplanck. 

*Cald%vell's (W. S.), 44'nQiles from New- York. 
This is the first landing of the steamboats. Here 
the Highlands commence. 

Peekskill YiLLAGE is directly opposite Caldwell's.* 

Antony'' s Nose (E. S.). The mountain of this name 
is not, as is generally supposed, the one that exhibits 
a resemblance of the profile of a human face. It is 
directly opposite Fort Montgomery Creek. Its eleva- 
tion is 1228 feet from the level of the river, and its 

* Enoch Crosby, the original of Cooper's " Harvey Birch," in 
the novel of" The Spy," is now living, and resides near Peekskill. 



so PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

name is derived, according to Irving, from the nose 
of Antony Van Corlaer. The christening of the 
mount is described in the story of the Dutch gov- 
ernor's first voyage up the Hudson, as follows : 
" Just at this moment the illustrious sun, breaking in 
all his splendour from behind one of the high cliffs 
of the Highlands, did dart one of his most potent j 
beams full upon the refulgent nose of the sounder of 
brass. The reflection of which shot straightway 
down, hissing hot into the water, and killed a mighty 
sturgeon that was sporting beside the vessel ! When 
this astonishing miracle came to be made knowm to 
Peter Stuyvesant (the governor), he, as may well be 
supposed, marvelled exceedingly; and as a monu- 
ment thereof, gave the name of Antony's Nose to a 
stout promontory in the neighbourhood, and it has 
continued to be called Antony's Nose ever since." 
From here to Fort Montgomery, which is now in 
ruins, on the opposite side, a large boom and chain 
was extended during the revolutionary war, which 
cost about 70,000 pounds sterling. It w^as partly 
destroyed by Gen. Sir Henry Clinton in October, 1777. 
After proceeding about 2 miles farther, an exten- 
sive range of mills are seen on the west side of the 
river. These are supplied by a stream called But- 
termilk Falls. This is a beautiful little cascade, which 
comes foaming and tumbling down the rocks, and 
has a milk-white appearance. The mills are the 
property of Mr. Lydig. Richard Arden's mansion 
is seen directly opposite Buttermilk Falls. This 
gentleman has an immense tract at this place, on 
which is situate the " Beverly House,"* a quarter of 

* During the Revolution, tliis house was the property of Charles 
Beverly Robinson (a colonel in the British army, though an 
American by birth), but in possession of the Americans and the 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 21 

a mile south of his dwelhng, — not in sight from the 
river. Three miles above, the location of the cele- 
brated United States'' Military School comes in view. 



quarters of Gen. Benedict Arnold, who infamously attempted to 
betray his country to her enemies in the year 1780. His plot 
was discovered in time to avert the fatal blow, hut not to secure 
the traitor. Col. Beverly and Major Andre were sent by Sir 
Henry Clinton, the British commander, on board the sloop of 
war Vulture, at New- York, with orders to proceed up the river 
and have an interview with Arnold. They anchored opposite 
Fort Montgomery. Andre went to Beverly House, saw the 
traitor, and received the draughts of all the works at West Point 
and the passes leading to them. Previous to this time, Arnold 
had never intrusted a paper out of his hands which might expose 
him to detection ; but now saw no danger in confiding these to 
Andre, who was to re-embark directly on board the sloop and 
make sail for New-York. Andre returned alone to the beach, 
whence a boat was to convey him to the Vulture ; but this ar- 
rangement was defeated by an obstacle wholly unexpected, — 
the sloop having weighed anchor and moved down to Teller's 
Point, which divides Tappan and Haverstraw bays. This move- 
ment having excited the suspicions of the rowers of the boat in 
which Andre was to return, caused them peremptorily to refuse 
taking him on board. Finding all entreaties vain, he returned 
to Arnold, and consulted him on the propriety of urging the men 
to proceed. Arnold advised him to assume a disguise and return 
by land ; and wished to withdraw the papers intrasted to him, 
thinking it hazardous to send them by land. To this, however, 
Andre refursd to accede, as he was desirous of showing Clinton 
with what punctuality he had executed his mission. He dis- 
guised himself in a dress provided by a man named Joshua 
Smith, and, after secreting the letters in his boots, proceeded oii 
his journey, accompanied by Smith ; each had a passport from 
Arnold " to go to the lines of White Plains, or lower if the 
bearer thinks proper ; he being on public business." When they 
arrived in sight of the ground occupied by the English, Smith, 
seeing no one, said, " You are safe ; good-by," and returned at 
full speed. "Andre proceeded, and was about entering the village 
of Tariytown, when he was accosted by three men, arrested, 
searched, and the fatal papers found on him. Arnold soon heard 
of his arrest, immediately ordered his wife to burn his papers, 
flew to his barge (which was always ready manned and lay at 
the small dock opposite Buttermilk Falls), and ordered the 
men to row him down to the Vulture. He arrived on board safe, 
and gave the men privilege to remain or return with the barge. 
They chose the latter. He was elevated to the rank of briga* 



2S PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

' *West Point (W. S.). West Point is celebrated 
as the theatre of several important events during the 
revolutionary struggle, the remembrance of which 
will cause every feeling heart to glow with patriotism. 
The Military Academy, under the superintendence of 
Col. Thayer, has reached a celebrity alike creditable 
to him and honourable to our country. It was es- 
tablished in 1802, and the number of students is 
limited to 250. Col. R. E. De Russey is the present 
able and judicious superintendent and commandant. 
The cadets parade every evening at 6 o'clock, which 
exhibition, together with the " eloquent music" dis- 
coursed by the hand, is calculated to excite the ad- 
miration of every visiter. On approaching the point, 
the first building noticed is the Hospital, which is a 
fine stone edifice, with a piazza in front, and an ex- 
tensive wing at each end. The next objects worthy 
of attention are the ruins of the venerable Fort Put- 
nam, which occupy a majestic and commanding situ- 
ation. Near the river is a kind of niche in the cliff, 
accommodated with a number of benches. This is 
called Kosciusko's Garden. Clusters of lilacs are 
still growing, which are said to have been planted by 
the Polish patriot. There is also a spring of very 
fine water, over which the cadets have placed a mar- 
ble reservoir, in which the water boils up with fine 
effect. It was formerly difficult of access, but is 
now accessible by means of a flight of stone steps. 

dier-general in the British army, which he held until June 14, 
1801, when he died, at Gloucester-Place, London, 

" Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung." 

Andre was tried as a spy, convicted, and suffered an ignomini- 
ous death, which must have been preferable to the life of Arnold, 
rendered miserable by the contempt of those tor whom he had 
sacrificed his friends, his home, his country, and his honour. 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 23 

A short distance from this place Kosciusko's monu- 
ment is seen : it is built of fine hewn marble ; the 
inscription on it is" — " Kosciusko. Erected by the 
corps of Cadets, 1828." After turning the point, 
the Hotel comes in view : it is a fine spacious house, 
and kept by Mr. W. B. Cozzens, a gentleman long 
and advantageously known to the visiters of West 
Point. During the war, a chevaux-de-frize was ex- 
tended across from the wharf to Magazine Point, on 
Constitution Island, to prevent vessels from passing 
further up the river. 

About a quarter of a mile above is a monument to 
the memory of a cadet who was killed by the burst- 
ing of a cannon. The names of several cadets are 
inscribed upon it. A short distance further, at the 
water's edge, is a small cove, where is seen a small 
white house. This house is on the site of the build- 
ing in which Gen. Washington held his head-quarters 
during a part of the Revolution. After proceeding 
about a mile beyond the landing, by taking a retro- 
spect, the traveller has a magnificent view of the 
Military Academy, and all the buildings appertaining 
thereto. There are nine brick buildings for the 
officers and professors. The view of the Point from 
this distance is highly imposing. jMr, Samuel Gov- 
erneur has a beautiful residence opposite West Point. 
The Highland School is located half a mile north. 
It was commenced in 1830, and is now becoming 
very popular. 

The Croiv's Nest (W. S.) is the first mountain 
north of West Point, and has an indenture on its 
summit resembling a nest : hence its name. Eleva- 
tion 1418 feet. 

Cold Spring (E. S.), a small village about 2 miles 
north of West Point, on the opposite side, derives 



24 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

lis name from a spring in the vicinity, which suppHed 
the troops with water during the war. The West 
Point Foundry, under the superintendence of Gov- 
erneur Kemble, Esq., is situated at this place. This 
estabhshment, for the manufacture of cannon and ma- 
chinery, comprehends two blast-furnaces, three air- 
furnaces, three cupola-furnaces, a boring-mill of 
nine gun beds, and one for mortars and cylinders, 
with lathes, &c. ; three water-wheels, one of iron, 
36 feet in diameter, with extensive shops, and a 
steam-engine in Beach-street, New-York, for the 
manufacture of steam-engines and other machinery. 
The whole establishment employs daily from 450 to 
600 workmen. 

BuTTEPv Hill is the last of the range on the west 
side. Its elevation is 1529 feet, greater than any of 
the Highlands except the " High Peak," which is 
1689 feet. At the foot of it can be seen Putnam's 
Rock, which was rolled from the top in 1778 by a 
party of soldiers, directed by Gen. Putnam. An in- 
dividual, rather visionary than otherwise, of the name 
of Newbold, has been endeavouring for a number of 
years to establish three cities on the top of this moun- 
tain. Their names are Faith, Hope, and Charity. 
He intends constructing a railway from the river up 
the mountain, with an engine stationed at the summit, 
by which merchandise, &c. will be drawn up for the 
use of the inhabitants. 

Break-neck Hill is the last of the range of High- 
lands on the east side ; it is a very rough craggy 
mountain. When directly opposite, the profile of a 
human face, called " Turk's Face," can be seen on 
the point of rock which projects farthest southward. 

PolopclPs Island. This is the name of the small 
d island in the middle of the river at this place. 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 25 

This island is the residence of nothing save snakes, 
which are found in immense numbers ; having never 
been subjected to the influence of a tutelar saint, 
with snake-compelling powers like those of the re- 
nowned St. Patrick. 

Cornwall (W. S.). A small village 4 miles south 
of Newburgh. 

New- Windsor (W. S.) is 2 miles south of New- 
burgh. There are two docks at this place : a few 
yards back from the south dock is seen a low house 
with three dormant windows ; in 1774 this was the 
domicil of Mr. Ellison ; Gen. Washington resided 
with his family most part of that winter and held his 
quarters there ; a short distance back of this, on the 
eminence, is a beautiful mansion belonging to Mr. 
Bullus ; from this place there is a delightful prospect 
for 20 miles around. 

*Newburgh (W. S.). Newburgh was first settled 
by some emigrants from Palat-ine, in the year 1708, 
and is now a place of some considerable magnitude, 
containing a population of about 4000. Being situ- 
ated on the declivity of a hill, it probably makes a 
better appearance from the river than from any other 
point. A stage runs from this place to Ithaca daily. 
A quarter of a mile soutk of the village stands the 
old stone house in which Washington held his quar- 
ters at the time when the celebrated " Newburgh 
Letters" made their appearance. 

Presqu' Isle, nearly opposite Newburgh, is the 
residence of Mr. — Denning. This situation affords 
a most delightful prospect of country, and its gar- 
dens, shrubbery, and forest-trees are very charming. 

FisHKiLL (E. S.) is directly opposite Newburgh. 
The Matteawan Cotton Factory is situated near this 
place. It belongs to the Messrs. Schenck, of New- 
C 



26 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSOIf. 

York. The Highland Grove Gi/mjiasimn was estab- 
lished at Fishkill in 1829, by Messrs. Kent and Jones, 
and is now in a very flourishing condition. 

Low Point (E. S.). There is a small cluster of 
white buildings on this point. It is 2 miles above 
Fishkill. 

Daiis Kamer Point (W. S.), b^ miles above New- 
burgh, is a rough peninsula. Knickerbocker, speak- 
ing of Gov. Stuyvesant's passage up the river, says, 
" Even now I have it on the point of my pen to re- 
late, how his crew was most horribly frightened, on 
going on shore above the Highlands, by a gang of 
merry roistering devils, frisking and curvetting on a 
huge flat rock which projected into the river, and 
which is called the DuyveWs Dans Kamer to this 
very day." 

The splendid mansion with a wing at each end, on 
the brow of the hill just below this place, is the resi- 
dence of Mr. Armstrong. 

Hampton (W. S,), G9 miles from New- York. 

Hamburgh is directly opposite Hampton. The 
creek which empties into the river at this point is 
called Wappinger's Creek. One mile and a half above 
this place, on a projecting point, is seen a fine brick 
building, with an arbour on the hill. This was the 
residence of George Clinton, formerly Governor of 
this State, and celebrated in the annals of New- 
York as a statesman, a soldier, and a good citizen. 
Gen. James Tallmadge is the present occupant. 

Jew's Creek (W. S.) is li miles above Hampton. 
Brick-manufacturing is carried on at this place very 
extensively. 

Milton (\V. S.), 72 miles from New-York. The 

village opposite is called J3arnegat. The shore be- 

Hampton and Milton is literally covered with 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 27 

The beautiful mansion of Col. Livingston is situated 
in delightful grounds on the margin of the river, about 
1 mile south of Poughkeepsie. 

*PouGHKEEP3iE (E. S.) is located about 1 mile 
from the landing. This place was originally settled 
by some Dutch families, about the year 1735, and 
derived its name from an Indian word, Apokeepsing, 
signifying safe harbour. It was incorporated as a 
village in 1801, and now contains a population of 
more than 5000. It is a beautiful and pleasant place ; 
the buildings and grounds of its inhabitants display- 
ing much taste. Its importance as a river-town is 
very considerable, having an extensive back country 
to support its commercial prosperity. The shore is 
rough and bold, and the steamboat landing is not 
seen until the boat reaches the dock, in consequence 
of a high rocky projection, called the " Call Rock." 
There is a very fine view, for several miles north and 
south, from the top of this rock. There are two fine 
hotels in the village, equal to any between the cities 
of New- York and Albany. 

New Paltz (W. S.). This village is opposite 
Poughkeepsie. 

*Hyde Park (E. S.). A large tract of land at this 
place is owned by Dr. David Hosack, an eminent 
physician from New-York, who has lately retired 
from the city to this delightful part of the country. 
His splendid mansion is in sight from the river. 
There is a park for deer, arbours, lawn, and a very 
extensive hot-house, which contains specimens of 
almost all our domestic plants, together with a great 
variety from other countries. 

Half a mile above Dr. Hosack's is seen Judge 
Pendleton's mansion ; and two miles further is that 
of Hamilton Wilkes, Esq. I)r. Rowari's seat is di- 



28 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

rectly across the river from Hyde Park. Three 
miles above, Beaver Creek empties itself into the 
Hudson. 

Esopus Island is situated at the mouth of the creek. 

Lewis's Dock (E. S.). After proceeding a few miles 
further and turning a point of land, a small dock is 
seen, and a splendid brick building a few yards in 
the rear. This is the residence of Gen. Morgan 
Lewis, formerly Governor of the State of New- 
York. A. few yards above Governor Lewis's is the 
beautiful mansion of James Duane Livingston, Esq. 

Staatsburgh (E. S.). The beautiful mansion on 
the hill, at tliis place, is the residence of James 
Thompson, Esq. 

*Rhinebeck (E. S.). This is a small landing, whence 
a sloop sails twice a week with produce for New- 
York. The village is 3 miles in the interior. This 
place affords a fine distant view of the Catskill 
Mountains and the Mountain House. 

* Columbus Point is on the opposite side of the 
river. The junction of the Waalkill Creek with the 
Hudson River is at this place. The terminating point 
of the Delaware and Hudson Canal is about 4 miles 
inland, where it empties into the Waalkill. The 
canal at the surface is 36 feet in breadth and 4 feet 
deep. The locks are 72 feet in length and 9 feet 
wide. The water rises in them from 8 to 11 feet. 
Two packet boats are in operation on the canal, and 
leave Bolton, one and a quarter miles from Columbus 
Point, every Monday and Thursday, for Honesdale, 
the head of the canal, whence passengers are taken 
to the coal-mines on the rail-road. Stages are in 
readiness at Honesdale to convey passengers to 
Utica, Binghampton, Owego, and Ithaca. 

Kingston is a pretty village, located on ^ beautiful 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 29 

and extensive plain, 3 miles inland. It was burnt 
by the British, October 25, 1777. 

Magdalen Island (E. S.), 8 miles above Rhinebeck, 
is the property of Dr. Mastin. His residence is 
handsomely located on the south end of the island. 
He has an arbour " founded on a rock," from which 
a splendid view of the river is afforded both north 
and south. 

Shultz^s Dock (E. S.). A sloop sails from this place 
to New- York once a week. 

Lower Red Hook (E. S.). Tliis was formerly a 
place of considerable business, but within a few 
years it has all been diverted to the landing 3 miles 
above. Just south of the landing is a neat, delight- 
fully-situated building, with a small grove in front, 
which is decorated with an arbour ; and a number 
of rustic seats are placed about under the trees. It 
is the residence of Capt. Brown, of the United 
States' army. A few yards north of the dock is the 
seat of J. R. Livingston, Esq. The mansion is large 
and splendid. The mansions of J. C. Stevens, J. C. 
Montgomery, and R. S. Livingston are situated be- 
tween Lower and Upper Red Hook. 

Glasgow Village (W. S.), 21 miles above Lower 
Red Hook landing. A short distance above here is 
the residence of Rev. Mr. Overbagh. 

*Upper Red Hook (E. S.). The village is about 
2 miles from the landing, in the interior. There is 
a hotel, a number of stores, storehouses, &c. at the 
landing. 

The mansion south of the dock is the residence 
of Robert Tillotson, Esq. The first mansion north 
of the south landing belongs to John Swift Living- 
ston, Esq. It is one of the most beautiful locations 
on the Hudson. A few yards above is the residence 
C 2 



30 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

of Mr. Elmendorf, also in a very eligible situation. 
After proceeding 2 miles further, the traveller has a 
view of the splendid brick mansion of R. L. Living- 
ston, Esq., formerly the residence of Chancellor Liv- 
ingston. A large and well-stocked hot-house is 
attached to the south end of the building. E. P. 
Livingston, Esq.'s, mansion is a few yards farther 
north. 

JJry (W. S.), opposite Upper Red Hook landing 
— Country-seat of Henry Barclay, Esq. ^ ;- '- ■ *^^ 

Saugerties Village, situated about 1 mifefw^esl 
from the confluence of the Esopus and "Hudson 
rivers. The interjutting hills obstruct the view of 
the most considerable portion of it from the latter 
stream. It is only of seven or eight years' growth, 
and at present contains very extensive manufactories 
of bar-iron, paper, and white lead ; besides many 
other of minor importance ; a population of 3000 
souls, and a water-power still unemployed, which 
promises a corresponding continuance of prosperity 
for many years to come. This village chiefly owes 
its origin and importance to the exertions and enter- 
prise of the proprietor of the seat last named. There 
are falls of about 45 feet perpendicular height on 
the Esopus River, at this village, occasioned by natu- 
ral and artificial obstructions, which flood the water 
back two or three miles, forming a most beautiful 
sheet or lake. Further up, at the distance of about 
a mile, are the great falls of the Esopus, which, to- 
gether with the variety and beauty of the adjacent 
Scenery, present claims for the gratification of the 
curious of no inferior order. The roads in the 
neighbourhood, during the temperate and bland sea- 
son of the year, are generally good, and that in par- 
ticular which leads to the Pine Orchard tlirough Kau- 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 31 

terskill Clove. The scenery along this clove is truly 
alpine and unsurpassed by any of the same character 
witliin the United States. Fishing affords excellent 
sport, particularly for trout, which are taken in great 
quantities a few miles back in the country. There 
is a good hotel, and carriage's and horses for the 
convenience of sojourners ; and the climate being 
healthy, there are few places equally accessible to 
the citizens of New-York which offer greater induce- 
ments for a temporary residence during the summer 
months. 

Bristol (W, S.), Tw^o sloops sail from this village 
to New- York. 

f^'Trumpore's Landing (^V. S.). There are four or 
five houses at this place : it is the next above Bristol. 

Oak Hill (E. S.). The large store-house and dock 
at this place be^png to Harman Livingston, Esq. 
His splendid mansion, is situated on the hill just 
south of the landing. 

Ramshoni Creek is seen ' wnding through the 
marsh about a quarter of a mile sofitthk,of the Catskill 
dock. " J i-r. r 

*Catskill (W. S.) contains a papulation of about 
2500 souls. This is the landing-place for those whfy--: 
visit the CatsJiill Mountain House. A stage leaved 
Catskill for Ithaca every morning at 7 o'clock, to 
meet the steamboat on Cayuga Lake, wdiich runs ta 
Cayuga bridge, where stages are in readiness to con- 
vey passengers immediately to Rochester. Passen- 
gers for Ithaca generally land at this place or New- 
burgh. 

Catskill Creek empties into the Hudson at the 
south side of the dock. It is a very considerable 
stream, and forms a harbour for the sloops that sail 
from this place. 



33 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

Stages are always at the dock on the arrival of 
the 7 o'clock boats from New-York, ready to take 
parties to the Mountain. The distance by the road 
is 12 miles, although in a direct line it is only 8. 
The time taken in performing the journey is about 
four hours in going and a little over two hours in re- 
turning. The road is very fine and level for 9 miles, 
when the ascent from the foot of the mountain com- 
mences by a winding road, which leads to the west 
end of the Pine Orchard ; for the following descrip- 
tion of which, we are indebted to Mr. N. G. Elliot, 
of Catskill. 

Pine Orchard. — Few places of fashionable re- 
sort present stronger attractions to the tourist than 
the Pine Orchard. A few years ago this delightful 
retreat was almost unknown, and rarely visited, but 
by the hardy hunter in pursuit of the deer, the bear, 
and the wolf, who had hitherto maintained undis- 
turbed possession of its cliffs and caverns. At length 
the tale of the extent and beauty of the prospect and 
the grandeur of the scenery drew the attention of 
individuals of taste ; and the glowing descriptions 
they gave of its surpassing magnificence effectually 
roused and fixed the attention of the public. Each 
successive season the number of visiters has in- 
creased, till the temporary buildings at first erected 
for their accommodation have given place to a splen- 
did hotel, 140 feet in length and four stories high. 
This establishment has been erected by the Moun- 
tain Association, at an expense of about $22,000. 
It occupies the eastern verge of a table of rock some 
six acres in extent, and about 3000 feet above the 
river. An excellent line of stages is established to 
this place from Catskill, a distance of 12 miles. 
The ride to the foot of the mountain is not particu- 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 33 

larly interesting, but as you ascend every moment 
developes something magnificent and new. The 
sides of the mountain, steep and seemingly inacces- 
sible, tower far above you, clothed in the rich deep 
foliage peculiar to such regions ; while below your 
path a clear stream runs, one moment bubbling over 
its rocky bed, and the next leaping down its cascades 
to the valley. The road is extremely circuitous, and 
so completely hemmed in by the luxuriant growth of 
forest trees, that the traveller is for a long time unable 
to judge of his progress in the ascent by any view 
of the country he has left. At an abrupt angle of 
the road, however, he obtains at once a full view of 
the Mountain House — perched like the eyrie of an 
eagle among the clouds — or rather like the enchanted 
castle in a fairy tale ; seemingly inaccessible to mor- 
tal foot, still it reminds him of such terrestrial com- 
forts as are sure to be acceptable after exercise in 
the pure air of the mountains. Another turn and it 
again disappears, and the excited traveller next finds 
himself on the level rock of the Pine Orchard, and 
approaching the hotel from the rear. A moment 
more and he is on the edge of the precipice in front 
of the noble building. At first glance he would be 
led to believe, with Leather Stocking, that creation 
was all before him, and he is forced to admit that his 
wildest anticipations are more than reahzed. The 
view from Table Rock has been compared, by those 
who have seen both, to that from the summit of Ve- 
suvius over the Bay of Naples and the adjacent 
coasts. In features they are unlike ; but in char- 
acter the same. From this lofty eminence all in- 
equalities of surface are overlooked. A seemingly 
endless succession of woods and waters, farms and 
villages, towns and cities, are spread out as upon a 



34 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

boundless map. Far beyond rise the Taghkanick 
Mountains, and still further the highlands of Con- 
necticut and Massachusetts. A little to the left, and 
at a still greater distance, the Green Mountains of 
Vermont stretch away to the north, and their blue 
summits and the blue sky mingle and melt together. 
The beautiful Hudson, studded with islands, appears 
narrowed in distance, with steamboats almost con- 
stantly in sight ; while vessels of every description, 
spreading their white canvass to the breeze, are 
moving rapidly over its surface, or idly loitering in 
the calm. These may be traced to the distance of 
nearly 70 miles with the naked eye ; and again at 
times all below is enveloped in dark cloud and roll- 
ing mist, which, driven about by the wind, is con- 
tinually assuming new, wild, and fantastic forms. 
The whole produces an effect on the beholder un- 
equalled by that of any other scene in this country. 
The gazer turns from the sight, compelled to acknow- 
ledge that all is beautiful and all is new. Visiters, 
who have here assembled from various motives, all 
depart satisfied and delighted. The student, pale 
and exhausted with study and confinement, has for 
a while forsaken his books, and found new vigour 
in the " medicinal freshness" of the mountain air. 
The idler and the invalid have been well rewarded 
for their toils ; the one by the accession of health 
and strength, the brightened eye and quickened 
pulse, and the other by obtaining excitement, exer- 
cise, and pleasure, in exchange for the irksome 
monotony of the world below. All are for a while 
freed from the idle ceiemonials of life, and permitted 
to hold unrestrained converse with Nature and her 
works. 

From the Pine Orchard a ride or walk of 1^ miles 
brings you to the 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 35 

Cauterskill Falls. — Here the outlet of two in- 
considerable lakes leaps clown a perpendicular fall 
of 180 feet; then glides away through a channel it 
has worn in the rock to a second fall of 80 feet. 
Below this it is lost in the dark ravine through which 
it finds its way to the valley of the Catskill. The 
waterfall, bold as it is, forms however but one of the 
many interesting features of this scene. Standing 
on the edge of the first fall, j'-ou look down into a 
dreary chasm whose steep sides, covered with the 
dark ivy and the thick foliage of summer, seem like 
a green bed prepared for the reception of the waters. 
Making a circuit from this spot, and descending about 
midway of the first fall, you enter a footpath which 
conducts into an immense natural amphitheatre be- 
hind the waterfall. The effect of this scene is im- 
posing beyond description. Far over your head pro- 
jects a smooth surface of rock, forming a magnifi- 
cent- ceiling to tliis amphitheatre. In front is the 
ever-falling water, and beyond, the wild mountain- 
dell wath the clear blue sky above it : the scene can 
only be appreciated on the spot. The tourist should 
bear in mind that the falls must be seen from below 
to produce the best effect, and that the view from the 
Pine Orchard is much finer from 3 o'clock P.M. till 
sunset, than in the middle of the day. 

Coaches leave the Mountain every morning at 7 
o'clock, and arrive in time to take the boat that 
leaves Albany at 7 o'clock for New- York. They 
also leave in the afternoon, and arrive in time for the 
day boat for Albany, and the night boat for New- 
York. 

*HuDsoN (E. S.), was first founded in 1784, by 30 
individuals, emigrants from Providence, R. I., and is 
now quite a large and important city ; the only one 



36 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

between New-York and Albany. Its population is 
about 6000. It is situated on an elevated plain, and 
the bank rises from the river in the form of an ab- 
rupt bluff, from 50 to 60 feet in height. Hudson has 
great advantages of water-power in the vicinity, and 
ranks as the third in manufacturing importance in 
the state. A company of gentlemen of this place 
have recently engaged in the whale-fishery. They 
have three ships employed, and are hkely to make it 
profitable. This is the landing-place for those who 
wish to visit New-Lebanon Springs at the Shaker 
Settlement, on the road from Albany to Boston, about 
25 miles from Albany and 30 from Hudson. It is 
a delightful village, containing many attractions for 
travellers, among which is a mineral spring, which, 
together with the pleasantness of the country, ren- 
ders it the resort of invalids, and those who seek for 
health in the fresh air of the country. There are 
here several bathing-houses, well conducted, for 
which the v/ater is well adapted, being less medicinal 
than that of the Saratoga Springs, but clear and soft. 
In the vicinity of the spring is the Shaker village, 
consisting of a considerable number of plain wooden 
houses, painted and adorned in the most unostenta- 
tious manner. The peculiar religious services of 
this people excite the curiosity of strangers, and 
access to them is easily obtained. The settlement 
consists of about 600 persons, which " little com- 
munity, slowly increasing in numbers, pretty rapidly 
in wealth and power, is a sort of miniature of a 
world, all of one sort, beyond which it is deemed 
fatal to extend a look or a mental vision !" 

Stages leave Boutwell's hotel for the Springs, 
daily, at half-past 7 in the morning, and in the after- 
noon, on the arrival of the morning boats from New- 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 37 

York. The Claverack Falls are 9 miles from Hud- 
son. No Stages run regularly to the Falls, but they 
can be procured at any time at Bryan's hotel. 
The water falls 150 feet without interruption, except 
by a small point of rock which juts out from the 
main crag. 

Athens (W. S.), opposite Hudson, is a large vil- 
lage, located on plains gently sloping towards the 
river. A large number of sloops sail from this 
place. Numerous mansions of private gentlemen 
adorn this pleasant village. A canal has been cut 
through a low marshy island in the river, between 
tliis place and Hudson, through which a horse ferry 
boat plies regularly every hour. 

CoLUMBiAviLLE (E. S.), 4 milcs above Hudson, is 
in sight from the river, about a quarter of a mile from 
its bank. It is situated on Kinderhook Creek^ which 
empties into the river. There are two cotton-fac- 
tories at the village, owned by Messrs. Wild and 
Jenkins. The scenery in the vicinity is of a wild 
and romantic character. 

Four Mile Point (W. S.), is a high rocky point of 
land opposite Columbiaville. 

*CoxsACKiE Landing (W. S.). This is quite an 
enterprising place ; a number of sloops sail for New- 
York, daily, with the produce of the interior. The 
village is one mile in rear of the Landing, and has 
about the same number of buildings. There is a 
handsome brick church at the landing, an extensive 
harj-press, and a ship-yard in which many sloops and 
canal boats are built, and two or three steam-boats 
have been constructed. Small ships occasionally 
haul up here to repair. 

*Stu YVES ANT Landing (E. S.), coutains about 50 
houses, a few stores, a post-office, church, &c, 
D 



38 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

Nearly opposite is a light-house, erected in 1829, 
under the direction of Samuel Swartwout, collector 
of the port of New-York. Two iniles above, on 
the east side, is another, which was erected at the 
same time. 

KiNDERHOOK is situated 5 miles inland. 

New-Baltimore (W. S.). There is a yellow store- 
house on the dock, from wliich a sloop sails once a 
week. 

*CoEYMANs (W. S.). Red store-house on one 
wharf, white on the other. There is a stone build- 
ing, just south of this landing, on which an antiquary 
might gaze with interest. A flouring-mill will be 
seen a little north of the village. 

Castleton (E. S.), 8 miles from Albany — brick 
store on one dock, white hay-'press on the other. 

Mr. J. B. Staats's place (E. S.), 5 miles from Al- 
bany, is called Hoge-bergh., which, in Enghsh, signi- 
fies high hill. 

Van Wie^s Point (W. S.), 5 miles from Albany. 

The Overslaugh, 3 miles below Albany, is a place 
where the channel is very shoal and narrow, and oc- 
casionally the steam-boats are obliged to " lay-to" for 
an hour or two, until the tide rises. An immense 
sum has been expended for the improvement of the 
channel ; but it soon fills up again. Albany is in 
sight from this place. 

Greenbush is nearly opposite Albany. A steam 
ferry-boat plies between the two places. 

The city of Albany is the capital of New- York, 
the " empire state," and contains a population of 
about 30,000 souls. About the year 1612, some 
emigrants from Holland settled here ; and it is be- 
lieved to be the oldest settlement in the United 
States, with the exception of Jamestown in Virginia, 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 39 

of which place, however, nothing save a few ruins 
now remains. 

After Hudson's discovery of the river bearing his 
name, he returned to Holland, and the States' General 
granted a patent to sundry merchants for an exclu- 
sive trade on the river, who in 1614 erected a small 
fort on an island a short distance below the present 
city, which however was shortly after abandoned in 
consequence of the floods ; and in 1617 Fort Orange 
was erected. This stood at about the spot now oc- 
cupied by the Fort Orange Hotel, in South-Market- 
street. 

On the 24th September 1664 the garrison at the 
fort surrendered to an Enghsh force under Col. Car- 
teret, who named the place i\.lbany, in compliment to 
the Duke of York and Albany, the then proprietor of 
the province under a charter from Charles II., to 
whom the Dutch had surrendered. 

In 1686 the city was incorporated under a charter 
granted by Governor Dongan. In this charter it is 
called " an ancient city." Previously to the revolu- 
tionary war the city was surrounded by a stockade ; 
the houses were in the Dutch style of arclritecture, 
with the gable end to the street, and the city bore a 
very rural aspect. Almost every house had a large 
tree at the door, many of which we are told " were 
of prodigious size and extraordinary beauty." Until 
within a few years many of these old buildings were 
standing ; but recently the progress of modern im- 
provement has destroyed nearly the whole of them ; 
a few however still remain, the solitary monuments 
of " olden time," 

During the revolutionary war, Albany was a post 
of great importance, being the point of communica- 
tion with all the western and northern fortresses, and 



40 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

for the concentration of the American troops for all 
the military expeditions against the Canadas. 

In 1754 a Congress was convened here, consisting 
of commissioners from seven of the " provinces, who 
enrolled among their nmnber some of the most cele- 
brated names in our colonial history. The congress 
formed a plan of miion for the colonies, and advanced 
such doctrines and views as to their rights, as we 
are fully justified in believing, left a permanent im- 
pression in the minds of the colonists. Albany has 
now been the seat of government of the State of 
New- York nearly forty years, and has lately pro- 
gressed rapidly in extent and population, it having 
doubled within the last ten years. Its commerce 
and trade are very extensive. Being situated near the 
head of tide-vv^ater of the Hudson, and communicat- 
ing directly with the canals, its facilities for trans- 
portation to all parts of the country are very great, 
and constantly increasing. From the favourable 
position of the city, and the almost boundless wealth 
of the interior, it is but reasonable to suppose that 
Albany will continue to grow and flourish, and long 
remain what it already is, one of the first cities in 
our confederacy. 

The great Erie Canal terminates near the north 
line of the city, at the head of a spacious basin. 
There are in the city several fine and costly public 
buildings, as well as many private ones. 

The Capitol, at the head of State-street, is a fine 
stone edifice, 115 feet front, and has a portico sup- 
ported by four Ionic marble columns 33 feet in 
height. It is occupied for the sittings of the Legis- 
lature and the state courts. 

The Academy, which stands on the square north 
of the Capitol, is built of freestone, and considered 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 41 

the most chaste and beautiful specimen of archi- 
tecture in the city. It cost about $100,000. The 
Lyceum of the " Albany Institute" occupies a part 
of this building. 

The City Hall, on the east side of the square, 
fronting the Capitol and Academy, is constructed of 
Singsing marble, and surmounted by a beautifully 
gilded dome — the only one it is believed in America. 
— It forms a prominent object in approaching the city, 
and when the sun shines upon it, can be seen twelve 
or fifteen miles distant. This building is used prin- 
cipally for city and county offices, and the several 
courts. Albany contains about 20 churches, several 
of which are very fine. It has also two Female 
Academies, a Theatre, Museum ; a very good City 
Library, and one of the best reading-rooms in the 
United States, under the direction of the " Young 
Men's Association," to which strangers can be ad- 
mitted without difficulty. Lectures are given by 
members of the society twice each week. 

Stanwix Hall, recently erected, is one of the most 
substantial and permanent buildings in our country. 
It is constructed of Quincy granite from the vicinity 
of Boston. The saloon of this building is at least 
equal to any similar one in the State. It is sur- 
mounted by a large dome which adds greatly to the 
eflfect. 

State House, in State-street, is a building of 
antique appearance ; but not otherwise remarkable. 
It is occupied by the secretary of state, chancellor, 
register, adjutant-general, &c. 

The Canal Bank, and Mechanics'^ <5f Farmers' Bank 

stand in juxtaposition at the foot of State-street. 

The New-York State Bank stands in the centre of 

State-street. The Commercial Bank, and Bank of 

D2 



42 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

Albany are at the foot of State-street, on the south 
side. 

The Museum Building, at the corner of State and 
Market streets, is built in nearly a semi-elliptical form, 
four stories high besides the basement, and is without 
doubt one of the most splendid buildings in the State, 
both as it regards architecture and the material of 
wliich it is constructed. The three upper stories 
are occupied by the Museum^ containing a very large 
collection of curiosities of various descriptions, all 
of which are preserved and arranged in the most 
scientific manner. This concern is well worthy the 
attention of all who visit the city. The terrace 
affords a very extended view of the surrounding 
country. 

The Law Buildings, at the corner of Beaver and 
South Market streets, constitute one of the ornaments 
of the city. The South Dutch Church, enclosed in 
well-arranged grounds, extending from Beaver to 
Hudson-street, exhibits at each end a lofty portico 
supported by six large columns of freestone. 

The Albany Theatre is a handsome brick build- 
ing, scantily supplied with architectural ornaments 
in front. The interior is commodious and elegant. 

The Mohawk and Hudson Rail-road, between Albany 
and Schenectady, was commenced July 29, 1830. 
It is now completed. The main road terminates 
at the south end of the city, and for the convenience 
of the travelling public a branch has been constructed 
leading to the head of State-street. Locomotive 
engines and horse-power are alternately made use of 
for propelling the cars. 

There are now no packet-boats on the canal be- 
tween Albany and Schenectady. Two boats of this 



PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 43 

description were employed on this route in 1827; 
but did not succeed, in consequence of the detention 
at the locks — no less than 27 in number. The dis- 
tance is 28|- miles. By the Rail road it is only 16 
miles, which is accomplished in between one and 
two hours, while on the canal the passage occupies 
from twelve to fourteen hours. Persons wishing to 
take the packet-boats (which leave Schenectady for 
the West at 2 and 7 P.M.), take coaches at Albany 
on the arrival of the 5 o'clock boats from New- York, 
and arrive at Schenectady for the 2 o'clock packet, 
or at 3 o'clock, P.M., and arrive for the 7 o'clock 
packet. 

For Troy, 6 miles north of Albany, stages leave 
every hour ; and there are small steamboats which 
leave on the arrival of every boat from New-York, 
and at intermediate hours. 

Stages leave daily for Ballston and Saratoga 
Springs, at 6 and 9 o'clock, A.M., at 12 M., and 2, 
3, and 5 o'clock P.M. 

For Utica, Rochester, and Buffalo, daily, at 1 1 A.M., 
and 3 and 1 1 o'clock P. M. 

For Whitehall, daily, at 9 o'clock, A.M., to meet 
the steamboat on Lake Champlain, which runs to 
St. Johns, where passengers take stages for Mon- 
treal, distant about 30 miles. 

For Boston (through in two days), via. Lebanon 
Springs, Pittsfield, Northampton, and Worcester, daily, 
except on Sunday, at 2 o'clock, A. M. 

For Providence (through in two days), via. West- 
field, Munson, and Stockhridge, daily, except on Sun- 
day, at 2 o'clock, A. M. 

For Hartford (through in one day), via. Sheffield 
and Norfolk, daily, except on Sunday, at 1 o'clock, 
A.M. 



44 PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 

For New-Haven (through in a day and a half), 
via. Litchfield, daily, except on Sunday, at 1 o'clock, 
P.M. 

For Lebanon Springs, via. Nassau Village, every 
morning at 9 o'clock. 

For Montreal (during the winter), every morning 
at 2 o'clock, — through in three days. 

For Cherry Valley, Monday, Wednesday, and 
Friday, at 2 o'clock, A. M. 

Thorps' & Sprague's Stage-Office, corner of State 
and North Market streets. 

Baker & Walbridge's Office, corner of Hamilton 
and South Market streets. 

Rail-Road Office, 115 State-street. 

Steamboat Office, on the pier foot of State-street. 

New-York and Oswego Line. — Passengers, bag- 
gage, and goods forwarded by this line to Oswego, 
and all the ports on Lake Ontario. Also, to any 
place in the province of Upper Canada, and, via the 
Welland Canal, to Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois. 

r R. J. Vandewater, 30 Front-st., N. Y. 
Proprietors, < Johnson, Howlett, & Co., State-street, 
V Albany. 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

The traveller may take the Mohawk and Hudson 
Rail-road from 115 State-street, and be whirled 
across " by steam," or take the stage, which calls at 
any place in the city; when, after riding 15 miles 
over a sandy road, and through a barren country, 
with nothing to attract or interest the eye, he finds 
himself in the ancient city of 

Schenectady. According to tradition, this place 
seems to have been, long before the knowledge of it 
by Europeans, the head-quarters of the Mohawks, a 
very numerous and powerful tribe, who could at ona 
time muster 800 warriors. The city, consisting of 
63 houses and a church, was totally burnt in the. 
dead of night, 1690, by a party of French and In- 
dians from Canada, Many of the inhabitants were 
massacred, some taken captive, and part fled to Al- 
bany, of whom a nmnber lost their limbs, and all 
had well-nigh perished by the cold. Its present 
population is about 5000. Tliis was a place of 
some considerable business, principally forwarding, 
a few years since, when goods were carried across 
the turnpike to the batteaux on the Mohawk river ; 
but since the canal has been in operation, the busi- 
ness of Schenectady has been nearly annihilated, as 
it passes immediately on to Albany. 

The Schenectady and. Saratoga Rail-i^oad here com- 
mences, from the construction of which, the villages 
of Ballston Spa, and Saratoga Springs derive almost 
incalculable advantages. The cost of the road, 



46 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

which is 21-i- miles in length, carriages, &c., was 
about $270,000. 

Union College was incorporated 1797, and is 
now in quite a prosperous condition. It occupies a 
very eligible situation, a short distance north-east of 
the city. Dr. Eliphalet Nott (inventor of the famed 
coal-stove), who is a great mechanical genius as well 
as a divine, is the president of the institution. 

The traveller now resumes his tour upon the great 
Western canal, the most stupendous chain of artificial 
navigation in this or any other country. In passing 
for hundreds of miles through rich and fertile tracts, 
and over obstacles which presented almost impassa- 
ble barriers to the great work of internal improve- 
ment, so boldly planned and perseveringly completed 
by the foresight, wisdom, and indefatigable exertions 
of Clinton and his compeers, the reflection will in- 
evitably suggest itself, that the State of New- York 
has ample reason to indulge a feeling of pride in 
contemplating the beneficent results of the triumphant 
labours of those who planned and completed this 
monument to her public spirit and enterprize. 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 



47 



CANAL ROUTE. 



The several places and distances, as they occur on 
the canal route from Albany to Buffalo, are as follows : 





6 


DISTANCE 


FROM 






t 






v^ 






2 


>. 






, 6 




g 






o 


g 




rB 




'J2 


o 


s 




u 


< 


P 


p^ 


pq 


Albany . . . 


. . 





110 


270 


363 


Troy .... 


. . 7 


7 


103 


263 


356 


Junction . . . 


. . 2 


9 


101 


261 


334 


Schenectady 


. . 21 


30 


80 


240 


333 


Amsterdam , 


. . 16 


46 


64 


224 


317 


Schoharie Creek 


. 7 


53 


57 


217 


310 


Cauglmawaga . 


. 4 


57 


53 


213 


306 


Spraker's Basin 


. 9 


66 


44 


204 


297 


Canajoharie . . 


. 3 


69 


41 


201 


294 


Bowman's Creek 


. 3 


^2 


38 


198 


291 


Little Falls . . 


. 16 


88 


22 


182 


275 


Herkimer . . 


. 7 


95 


15 


175 


268 


Frankfort . . 


. 5 


100 


10 


170 


263 


Utica. . . . 


. 10 


110 





160 


253 


Whitesborough . 


. 4 


114 


4 


156 


249 


Oriskany 


. 3 


117 


7 


153 


246 


Rome . . . 


. 8 


125 


15 


145 


238 


Smith's . . . . 


. 7 


132 


22 


138 


231 


Loomis's 


. 6 


138 


28 


132 


225 


Oneida Creek . 


. 3 


141 


31 


129 


222 


Canistota . . 


. 5 


146 


36 


124 


217 


New-Boston 


. 4 


150 


40 


120 


213 


Chitteningo . 


. 4 


154 


44 


116 


209 


Manlius . . » 


. 8 


162 


52 


108 


201 



48 



WESTERN ROUTE FROAI ALBANY 



Orville . 
Syracuse 
Geddes . 
Nine-Mile Creek 
Canton . 
Jordan . 
Weed's Basin 
Port Byron . 
Montezuma (Le 
Clyde . . 
Lyons 
Newark . 
Palmyra . 
Fullom's Basin 
Pitts ford 
Rochester . 
Ogden 

Adams's Basin 
Brockport 
Holley . . 
Newport 
Portville . 
Oak Orchard 
Middleport . 
Lockport 
Pendleton . 
Tonawanda . 
Black Rock 
Buffalo . . 



keport) 





DISTANCE 


FROM 




o 
o 


a 




i 

m 

o 

■% 

o 


d 

1 

pq 


3 


165 


55 


105 


198 


6 


171 


61 


99 


192 


2 


173 


63 


97 


190 


6 


179 


69 


91 


184 


6 


185 


75 


85 


178 


6 


191 


81 


79 


172 


6 


197 


87 


73 


166 


3 


200 


90 


70 


163 


6 


206 


96 


64 


157 


11 


217 


107 


53 


146 


9 


226 


116 


44 


157 


7 


233 


123 


37 


130 


8 


241 


131 


29 


122 


13 


254 


144 


16 


109 


6 


260 


150 


10 


103 


10 


270 


160 





93 


12 


282 


172 


12 


81 


3 


285 


175 


15 


78 


5 


290 


180 


20 


73 


5 


295 


185 


25 


68 


10 


305 


195 


35 


58 


4 


309 


199 


39 


54 


5 


314 


204 


44 


49 


7 


321 


211 


53 


42 


12 


333 


223 


63 


30 


7 


340 


230 


70 


23 


12 


352 


242 


82 


11 


8 


360 


250 


^^ 


3 


3 


363 


253 


93 






WESTERN ROUTE FROBI ALBANY. 49 



TABLE OF ROADS 
FROM ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 

Inter- To ta.1 

mediate. Distaa ce 

Schenectady . ' . 15 15 

Amsterdam 15 30 

Caughnawaga 10 40 

Palatine Bridge 12 52 

Little Falls 21 73 

Herkimer 7 80 

Utica 16 96 

Vernon 15 111 

Manlius 25 136 

Onondaga 10 146 

Aubm-n 24 170 

Cayuga Bridge 9 179 

Geneva 13 192 

Canandaigua 16 208 

Batavia 48 256 

Buffalo 40 296 

From Buffalo to Niagara Falls . . 21 317 

" « " Lewiston .... 28 324 

From Canandaigua to 

Rochester' 28 28 

Clarkson 18 46 

Lewiston 60 106 

Niagara Falls 7 113 

From Utica to Sackett's Harbour . . 98 
« " « Ogdensburgh . . .120 
E 



^0 WESTERN RUUTE FROM ALBANY 

The Canal Packet-hoat, by which the traveller to 
the west continues his journey from Schenectady, is 
about 80 feet in length and 14 wide. A cabin in 
the forward part of the boat is fitted for ladies, with 
twelve berths, in a similar style to those of the 
steamboats on the Hudson. The dining-cabin is 
about 35 feet in length. The gentlemen's berths are 
not stationary, but are hung up in the dining-cabin 
at bed-time, by means of hooks fitted for the purpose. 
Back of the dming-cabin is the kitchen and sleeping- 
cabin for the hands. 

After leaving Schenectady, the boat passes through 
the town of Rotterdam, a most delightful tract of 
country, to the first lock, which will prove an inter- 
esting sight to those unacquainted with the science 
of canal navigation. The lower gates are opened, 
the boat runs in, the gates are closed, and the upper 
flood-gates opened. As an equilibrium takes place 
between the high water above the lock and that in 
the lock, the boat rises gradually about 8 feet, to the 
level of the water above. The acclivity being thus 
surmounted, the upper gates are opened, and the boat 
moves on uninterrupted. The distance from Sche- ■ 
nectady to Utica is 80 miles, and the passage is 
performed in from 18 to 20 hours. The boats are 
drawn by three horses ahead of each other. The 
horses are changed about every 10 miles. After 
proceeding 15 miles, the tourist has a view of the 
village of 

Amsterdam, on the opposite side of the Mohawk 
River, which contains about 1 00 houses, and is destined 
to become a place of some importance from the manu- 
facturing facilities afl?brded it by falls in a creek near 
it. A very fine bridge crosses the river at this place. 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 51 

A few miles farther is seen the stone house formerly 
the residence of Guy Johnson. 

Schoharie Creek. The canal crosses this creek 
by means of a guard-lock on each side, the gates of 
which are closed when the water is higher in the 
creek than the level of the canal, in order to prevent 
it from rushing into the canal and tearing away the 
embankments. The ruins of Fort Hunter are to be 
seen near the mouth of the creek. The Indian 
Church, called Queen Anne's Chapel, formerly stood 
on the spot where the eastern guard-lock now is. 

FuLTONviLLE, 27 milcs from Schenectady. A stage 
leaves here for Saratoga Springs, daily, except on 
Sunday. Caughnawaga is directly across the river. 

Anthomfs Nose, on the south side of the canal, is 
one of the most promment mountains on the whole 
line. 

Canajoharie (which signifies in the Indian tongue 
Boiling Pot), 38 miles from Schenectady. The canal 
runs through the northern section of this village, and 
a bridge crosses the river to Palatine. This will be 
the terminating point of the projected Catskill and 
Canajoharie Rail-road. 

Fort Plain village is 3 miles above Canajoharie. 
A large creek empties into the Mohawk at this place. 
The canal crosses the creek by means of guard-locks. 

Little Falls, 22 miles from Utica. These are 
rapids rather than falls. On each side the moun- 
tains are very high, leaving but a narrow space for 
the river, canal, and road to pass through. For 
about 2 miles the canal is formed by throwing up a 
wall into the river from 20 to 30 feet high, then ex- 
cavating into the mountain and filling it up. This 
was one of the most difficult and expensive parts of 
the canal, as it was necessary to blast the rock with 



52 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

gunpowder, to form the bed of the canal, for nearly 
the whole distance. A beautiful marble aqueduct 
crosses the river at this place, and leads into a basin 
opposite, where boats discharge and receive lading. 
The aqueduct has an elliptical arch of 70 feet, em- 
bracing the whole stream, except in time of freshets, 
and one on each side of 50 feet span. It is elevated 
about 25 feet above the surface of the river, " a 
foaming torrent, dashing over the bare rocks in a 
fearful and sublime style." There is a bridge just 
above, from which you have a fine view of the 
aqueduct, and the slab on which is engraved the 
names of the canal commissioners, the builders, &c. 
There are a number of fine buildings in the village 
on the opposite side of the river, principally of stone. 
Passengers disposed to pedestrianism generally leave 
the boat at the second lock, and walk until they reach 
the last. They are six in number, by which the boat 
is so much detained that a person may walk quite 
leisurely through the most wild and romantic scenery 
that can easily be imagined. A stage runs from this 
place to Trenton Falls every Monday, Wednesday, 
and Friday, at half-past 8, A.M., distance 24 miles. 
After leaving Little Falls, you pass through a most 
delightful plain called Geiman Flats, for 7 miles, 
when the village of 

Herkimer is seen on the opposite side of the 
river. There is an island in the river at this place, 
from which a bridge leads to either shore. Pro- 
ceeding 5 miles farther, the canal passes through the 
village of 

Frankfort. Thence the traveller pursues his 
journey 10 miles, and finds himself in the beautiful 
and flourishing city of Utica. 

Utica is located on the site of old Fort Schuyler 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANV. 63 

on the south bank of the Mohawk River, 96 miles 
west of Albany. It received a city charter in 1832. 
A charter was granted to this village in 1798, since 
which time its population has increased very rapidly. 
In 1813 it contained 1700 inhabitants ; by the census 
of July, 1830, it contained 8324 souls, — 4338 males, 
and 3986 females ; and the present population is 
estimated at about 10,000. Among the public in- 
stitutions are the following : the Oneida Institute of 
Science and Industry, which has a large farm 
attached to the Institution, on which each student 
labours from three to four hours each day, the 
Classical Academy, a Library, the Lyceum, Museum, 
two banks, and nine churches. Very pleasant ex- 
cursions are frequently made from tliis place to 
Whitesborough, York Mills, Clinton Village (contain- 
ing Hamilton College), Rome, and to the wild, pic- 
turesque, and romantic Trenton Falls. Stages leave 
Utica every morning at 5 o'clock for Auburn, Roches- 
ter, Osivego, and Buffalo ; they also leave in all di- 
rections on the arrival of the packet-boats from the 
east and west : stages leave for Trenton Falls four 
times a day, during the summer months ; packets 
leave for Schenectady every morning. 

Trenton Falls> 13 miles from Utica, constitute 
an object of curiosity and admiration to which the 
traveller is irresistibly attracted. It does not com- 
port with the design of this work to enter into a de- 
tailed description of these falls ; merely to call atten- 
tion to them fulfils our design. They are on the 
West Canada Creek, a large stream which empties 
into the Mohawk, and are about 24 miles above its 
mouth. They consist of several chutes, commencing 
near the Black River Road, and terminating at Con- 
rad's Mills, a distance of more than 2 miles. The 
E 2 



54 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

Upper Fall is 18 or 20 feet, but the previous descent 
of the water in the two miles above is supposed to 
be 60 feet. The water at this first fall is received 
into a large basin, and winds its way downward 
through a precipitous ravine 100 feet in depth, and 
on the summits of its banks 200 feet across This 
ravine presents some of the most romantic peculiari- 
ties. In many places the topmost crags overhang 
the stream, and some hardy trees, rooted in the crev- 
ices of the rock, throw their branches athwart the 
abyss. There are six distinct fails. The one we 
have already noticed, which is above the bridge on 
the Black River road. The next consists of two 
pitches, and is known as " The Cascades,''^ where the 
water is compressed into a very narrow space, and 
falls 18 feet. At the Mill-dam Falls, next in suc- 
cession, the descent is 14 feet. A short distance 
below is the High Falls, consisting of three pitches, 
the first of which is 48 feet, the second 1 1 feet, and 
the third 37 feet ; the three, including the intervening 
slopes and pitches, constituting a descent of 109 
feet. The fifth is called Sherman'' s Falls, about 70 
rods below the High Falls, and the descent is about 
35 feet. The last fall is at Conrad'' s Mills, and is 
6 feet. The whole descent from the top of the upper 
fall to the foot of that at Conrad's Mills is 387 feet. 
When the water is high, many of the distinct pitches 
are lost in the rushing cataract ; and it is only when 
the stream is low that each fall can be separately 
seen. A stairway is formed at the bottom of the 
ravine, by means of which a view is obtained of 
Sherman's Falls, and whence the visiter passes up 
within the ravine, under over-arching rocks, to the 
foot of the high fall. The whole forms a stupen* 
dous scene ; and those feelings of awe which ths 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANif. 55 

wilder works of nature impress upon the mind are 
powerfully excited. Organic remains have hitherto 
been found in abundance in the ravine, and Mr. Sher- 
man (at whose house accommodations are afforded 
to visiters) has a cabinet of these remains, wliich 
are exhibited to the curious. 

The following are the principal hotels in Utica : 
the Canal Coffee-House, kept by Mr. Shepard, late 
of the United States Hotel, is at the packet-boat 
landing; the National Hotel, three doors north of the 
canal ; Mr. Bagg's Hotel, corner of Main and Genesee 
streets ; United States Hotel ; Oneida Temperance 
House, and Clinton House — are all very fine estab- 
lishments. 

The Packet-boats leave Utica every day at 2 
o'clock, P.M., for Rochester and Buffalo. The fol- 
lowing is an extract from the advertisement of the 
proprietors. " This line is intersected by a line of 
packets running between Syracuse and Oswego. 
Passengers travelling between Utica and Oswego 
will meet with no delay in passing from one line to 
the other at Syracuse, and will find this route both 
interesting and expeditious. A boat for passengers will 
ply between Geneva and Montezuma, where this line 
js also intersected by the steamboat on Seneca Lake.'''' 
The boat passes through the following villages on 
the passage to Rochester : Whiteshorough, Rome, 
New-London, Canistota, New-Boston, Chittenango, 
Manlius, Syracuse, Canton, Jordan, Montezuma, 
Clyde, Lyons, Newark, Palmyra, and arrives at 
Rochester in time for the morning boat for Buffalo. 
There is nothing of much interest on the canal for 
the first sixty miles west of Utica. It is a perfectly 
level and marshy country, without a lock in the whole 
distance ; therefore the general course is to take the 



56 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

Stage in the morning and arrive at Syracuse in the 
evening, lodge at Mr. Gibson's " Syracuse House" 
(which is a very extensive well-furnished hotel, and 
kept in the first style), and be ready to take the 
packet, as it passes, about 5 o'clock in the morning. 

Syracuse is the most important place between 
Utica and Rochester, and contains about 600 build- 
ings ; among which are 4 churches, 2 very extensive 
hotels, one on each side of the canal, which is lined 
with lofty warehouses, giving it the appearance of 
New- York in miniature.* The importance of this 
flourishing village is principally owing to the im- 
mense quantity of salt produced in the vicinity. 
Great quantities are manufactured from the vast 
number of springs by which the whole body of the 
soil is impregnated. The salt is manufactured by 
solar evaporation. The water is brought in logs 
from the village of Salina, about one mile and a half 
distant, and emptied into the vats, which occupy 
nearly 300 acres. The vats are all covered with 
light roofs, which are moveable at pleasure, to admit 
the rays of the sun upon the water, or to prevent the 
rain from mingling with it. The salt is removed 
from the vats twice or three times in the course of 
the summer. 

Parties visiting Niagara frequently take the canal 
from this place to Oswego, 38 miles northward : 
proceed by steamboat on Lake Ontario to Lewiston, 
whence a stage ride of seven miles takes them to 
the Falls. 

There is a line of fine packet-boats on this route. 
The scenery is very interesting ; and during the last 
season it received a great portion of the fashionable 
northern and western travel. 

The Oswego Canal extends from Onondaga Lake 

* There was a great fire here in the spring of 1834. Damage 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 67 

to Lake Ontario at Oswego. It includes 20 miles 
of the Oswego River. The whole distance is 38 
miles. 

Salina is a mile and a half north of Syracuse. 
The first salt-spring was discovered at this place by 
the Indians, from the circumstance of its being vis- 
ited by deer and other animals. The Oswego Canal 
commences at this place, the surplus water of which 
is used for the purpose of forcing (by a powerful 
hydraulian) the salt water 85 feet up the hill into a 
large reservoir. It is forced up at the rate of 300 
gallons per minute, whence it is conveyed by logs to 
the factories in the neighbourhood, which amount to 
175 within a circuit of seven miles. The springs 
and works all belong to the State, to which the 
manufacturers pay imposts of 63 cents per barrel of 
5 bushels, which are applied, according to the con- 
stitution of the State, towards discharging the canal 
debt. ^ 

Geddes is a small village, 2 miles west of Syra- 
cuse. A number of valuable salt-springs have been 
discovered at this place very recently. The manu- 
facturing establishments are within a few rods of the 
canal. After pursuing its course 7 miles farther, 
the canal crosses Nine Mile Creek, by means of an 
aqueduct with two arches, under which the creek 
flows. 

Weed's Basin, 15 miles from Syracuse, contains 
about 80 houses, and is improving. 

Auburn is 7 miles south of Weed's Basin, for 
which place stages leave daily. 

The State Prison is located at Auburn, on the 
banks of the Owasco Creek. The machinery of the 
prison is propelled by the water from this creek. 

Montezuma is a flourishing village. There is a 



68 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

salt manufacturing establishment one mile north of 
it, to which a side-cut from the canal affords means 
of communication. Passengers intending to visit 
Ithaca Falls land here. 

Ithaca. This is a beautiful village, situate at the 
head of Cayuga Lake. Founded by the present 
Surveyor-general at an early day. In 1810 it had 
400 inhabitants ; it has now over 5000. It contains 
several churches, manufactories, an academy, and 
literary societies ; several newspaper and book es- 
tablishments, several fine hotels, and is surrounded 
with the most splendid scenery. It is situated on a 
flat of great extent, through which the Cajruga inlet 
passes on the western side of the village. It has 
some fine mills, and immense water-powers yet un- 
employed. 

This place has a very extensive commerce with 
New- York and Pennsylvania. It is said that one- 
tenth of the tolls paid upon the canal at Montezuma 
for produce going east is paid by the traders of 
Ithaca and its vicinity. 

To tourists its great attraction consists in its 
scenery, and for this reason we give it so particular 
a notice. During the last season a great many per- 
sons visited it, and were astonished at what they saw. 
The following is a brief description of the Falls at 
and near Ithaca. 

The falls of Fall River are near the village, and 
are seen on entering the village from the steamboat 
landing. Its height is 1 16 feet, with a proportionate 
breadth. Two immense piles of rocks enclose the 
stream ; and on the right-hand, high up the bank, a 
mill-race is seen windhig round a point of the bank, 
suspended in mid-air, and now and then an adven- 
turous visiter carefully treading his way along the 



"WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 59 

dizzy path. This race-way was built in an extra- 
ordinary manner : — A person let himself down from 
a tree standing on a liigh point above, and swinging 
over the giddy steep, he there dug out places in the 
rock in which to fasten the principal supporters of 
the race. The view from this point is grand and 
impressive. A short distance from this, up the rocky 
bed of the creek, the visiter proceeds until his steps 
are arrested by another splendid fall ; the bank pre- 
senting the most curious forms, and the most sur- 
prising strata. The fall is beautiful ; it is not so 
high as the preceding, but it is more wild ; the water 
pours over in large sheets, commencing, as it were, 
from the topmost ledge, and then spreading out 
widely and boldly below. The basin into which the 
water falls is also very picturesque. 

There are two more falls beyond these, which, 
with the others, make the descent 438 feet in the 
short space of one mile. 

There are some beautiful falls on the Cascadilla, 
though the effect of two of them has been destroyed 
by a high mill-dam thrown across the bed of the 
stream. 

On the Six Mile Creek and on the Buttermilk 
Creek there are also a great number of beautiful and 
romantic falls, all worthy of particular notice, and 
equal to any thing in this country. These are all at 
the village. 

On the Five Mile Creek, which is a few miles 
south from Ithaca, is one of the most splendid falls 
of water ever beheld. It is impossible to describe 
its majestic character. 

At Goodwin's Point there is still another fall, 
called the Taghcanic. This point is a place where 
the steamboats land daily. 



60 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

The ravine is ascended for about a quarter of a 
mile, and then the eye is amazed with a fall of water 
of 200 feet in perpendicular height, a breadth of 60 
feet, and banks of lock 360 feet high. The stream 
of water varies in quantity, though it is always a full 
stream. 

There is fine fishing and shooting during the sea- 
son about Ithaca. 

The lake is a lovely sheet of water 40 miles long 
and from 1 to 4 miles wude. Several neat villages 
are situated on its banks, and its surface is often 
white with sails. Travellers who wish to embrace 
the pleasures of this excursion will find the following 
routes decidedly the best : 
From New- York, via. Newburgh, to Ithaca, 2 days. 

" " " Catskill, " " 2 " 

" " " Utica and Auburn, 3 " 

" " " Montezuma & canal, 4 " 

The steamboat De Witt Clinton., low pressure, with 
elegant accommodations, and making the passage in 
from four to five hours, including ten landings, leaves 
the bridge. East Cayuga, every day, at 1 o'clock, 
P.M., Ithaca at 7, A.M. 

The Telcmachus, every other day, with canal-boats 
in tow. 

These boats are owned by Messrs. De Witt & 
Bloodgood, of Albany. They are both on the An- 
nesly plan, which is found in these instances to suc- 
ceed admirably. 

There is a superb hotel, called the Clinton House^ 
at Ithaca. 

One mile from Montezuma the canal enters the 
Montezuma marsh, 3 miles in extent, which is a most 
soiitary, desolate, and dreary swamp. After leavings 



WESTERN ROUTE PROM ALBANY. 61 

the marsh, and travelHrig 8 miles, the lyaveller passes 
the flourishing village of 

Clyde, which contains a glass-blowing establish- 
ment. 

Palmyra is a handsome business-looking village, 
in Wa)me county. It is built on the southern side 
of the canal. There are a number of factories and 
mills in the vicinity situated on Mud Creek, wliich 
runs eastward about 40 rods from the main street. 
Passengers and goods destined for Canandaigua land 
at this place. 

Fullom's Basin, 13 miles from Palmyra. The 
distance by canal to Rochester is 16 miles, and by 
land only 1\ ; in consequence of which passengers 
frequently take stages from this place ; by doing this, 
however, the view of the Great Embankment is lost. 
The embankment commences about 4 miles from 
Fullom's Basin, and extends 2 miles, at an elevation 
of about 70 feet, from which there is a fine prospect 
of the surrounding country. 

PiTTSFORD, containing about 100 buildings, is 2 
miles farther. After proceeding 10 miles from Pitts- 
ford, the boat arrives at the large and prosperous 
city of 

Rochester, the most extensive, populous, and im- 
portant place in the western country. The legisla- 
ture granted a city charter in the session of 1834. 
It has been termed the "Western New- York." The 
Genesee River passes through the city, and the 
Great Falls, 97 feet in height, are about 80 rods 
below. From the centre of these falls the cele- 
brated Sam Patch, of immortal memory, made his 
" last jump," in the autumn of 1829. He precipi- 
tated himself from a scaffold erected 25 feet above 
Table Rock, making an elevation of 125 feet. An 
F 



62 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

immense number of persons had collected from many 
miles distant, to witness this last and, as it proved, 
fatal leap. His body was not found until the en- 
suing spring. In 1812, Rochester was a wilderness; 
and in the short space of twenty-one years its growth 
has been unprecedented, as will be perceived by a 
slight glance at its present statistics. It contains 
2000 buildings, and a population of 12,000. In the 
south part of the city the canal runs parallel with 
the eastern bank of the river for half a mile, and at 
but a short distance. At the centre of the city it 
crosses the river by a sj)lendid aqueduct^ 804 feet long, 
with 11 arches of from 26 to 50 feet chord, elevated 
14 feet from the surface of the river. It is con- 
structed of red freestone, and cost over $80,000. 
The height of the canal at Rochester is 501 feet 
above the tide waters of the Hudson, and 64 feet 
below Lake Erie. There are two bridges across the 
river. The principal hotels are, the Eagle Tavern^ 
Rochester House, Mansion House, Arcade House., and 
Clinton House. The principal public buildings are, 
the Court-House, jail, 12 churches, and 2 banks, viz. 
Bank of Rochester and Bank of Monroe. In the 
vicinity of the city there are eleven flouring-mills, 
with fifty-three run of stones, capable of grinding 
12,000 bushels of wheat every 24 hours. 

The Arcade was erected in 1829. It is 100 feet 
front by 135 deep, and four stories high, exclusive 
of the attic and basement. There are six stores in 
front, besides a large hall, which leads to the Arcade, 
where the Atheneum, Post-office, Arcade House, and 
a variety of offices are situated. An Observatory, in 
the form of a Chinese pagoda, is erected on the top, 
from which the visiter may obtam a magnificent view 
of the country 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 63 

The steamboats United States and Osivego, on 
Lake Ontario, ascend the Genesee River within 
three niiles of Rochester.* A rail-road leads from 
the city to the steamboat landing, and passengers will 
find this a convenient point of embarkation for York, 
U. C, Niagara Falls, and all the other ports on Lake 
Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. 

Stages leave Rochester, daily, for Albany, via. 
Canandaigua, Geneva, Auburn, Onondaga, Utica, 
Little Falls, and Schenectady, distance 237 miles. 
They also leave, daily, for Buffalo, via. Lewiston and 
Niagara Falls, passing over the ridge-road, distance 
104 miles; and via. Caledonia, Leroy, and Batavia 
for Buffalo, distance 77 miles. 

Packet-boats leave Rochester every morning for 
Buffalo and Albany. After leaving Rochester in the 
boat for Buffalo, and passing a number of small 
places, the traveller arrives at the thriving village of 

Brockport. This is a pretty village ; the build- 
ings and grounds of its inhabitants displaying much 
taste. It chiefly owes its origin to, and derives its 
name from, the enterprising Hiel Brockway, Esq. 

Oak Orchard, 44 miles from Rochester. It is 
located on the bank of a creek of the same name. 
The largest arch on the whole line of canal is at 
this place, over which the canal crosses the creek. 
Travellers, wishing to see this " work of man," must 
leave the boat a short time before reaching it, as no 
stop is made, and walk rapidly forward in order to 
gain time ; and they will be taken on board at the 
village, when the boat passes. There is a passage 

* We would advise travellers to depend more on newspaper 
advertisements in relation to these boats, than the assertions of 
individuals, whose interest may not prompt them to be ovct' 
scrupulous in regard to giving correct information. 



64 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

to the bottom of the arch by means of circular steps, 
and a path underneath, which leads to the village. 
19 miles farther is the flourishing village of 

LocKPORT. It is situated on the mountain ridge ; 
and there are here five locks for ascending and five 
for descending by the canal, situated a few yards 
below the village. These locks are constructed in 
the most permanent manner, and the science and so- 
lidity displayed by them has often been spoken of 
with admiration. There are stone steps between the 
rows of locks, guarded on each side with iron rail- 
ings. This is the most stupendous work on the 
whole route. In 1821 there were but 2 houses at 
this place ; now there are nearly 400, and more than 
2000 inhabitants. Passengers who intend visiting 
the Niagara Falls frequently take stage here, and 
proceed to Manchester (the American Fall), 23 miles 
distant, or to Lewiston, which is 7 miles below the 
Falls, and visit Manchester afterward. After pass- 
ing Lockport 7 miles, the boat arrives at Tonnewanta 
Creek, which forms the canal for 12 miles to its 
mouth. Hence the canal is carried along the shore 
of the Niagara River for 8 miles to the village of 

Black Rock, which is on the west bank of the 
river, and is a place of considerable size, containing 
700 inhabitants. The former activity of this village 
has recently much diminished, as Buffalo has over- 
grown it, and attracted most of the business once 
transacted here. The private mansion of Gen. Peter 
B. Porter, late secretary of war (who resides here), 
makes quite a splendid appearance from the water. 
From Black Rock the canal runs along the bank of 
the river, 3 miles, to Buffalo. 

Buffalo is a beautiful, flourishing city, at the out- 
let of Lake Erie, possessing the twofold advantages 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. G5 

of a lake and canal navigation. The time is not far 
distant when it will rank with and rival any of the 
Atlantic cities. As a point for the concourse of 
strangers and voyagers, passing to and fro for plea- 
sure or business, Buffalo in the summer season pre- 
sents a singularly busy and active scene. The daily 
ingress and egress of such persons, by canals, 
stages, and steamboats, would seem incredible for a 
place of its size, as much for variety of their origin 
and destination as for their numbers. All the world 
in variety seem to be passing here. Besides the 
busy hum and animating effect of business, the love 
of nature and of pleasure will ever keep their swarm- 
ing devotees hovering over such a stupendous and 
attractive object as Niagara's everlasting cataract. 
Buffalo seems to be the principal place of repose, in 
approaching to and receding from this scene. And. 
the daily panorama of grave philosophy, of beauty, 
of fashion, and of pleasure, exhibited here, as if 
about to bend in adoration before the imposing spec- 
tacle of the mighty waters, thundering from the 
heights above into the ever-raging abyss below, or 
as if returning satiate from the deafening and cease- 
less roar of this wondrous water-fall, presents so 
shifting and variegated a picture as never to tire the 
lookers-on. 

The commerce of Lake Erie has increased within 
the last seven years beyond all precedent. Then there 
were five steamboats, and from twenty to twenty-five 
other vessels in operation. Last season, 30 steam- 
boats and 165 schooners were employed ; and now 
34 steamboats and about 175 saihng craft are en- 
gaged in the carrying trade between Buffalo and 
Detroit. 

F 2 



66 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

The city contains a population of from 12 to 
13,000, and about 2000 buildings. More than 400 
were erected during the year 1833. In 1830 the 
population was between 6 and 7000. There are 
several splendid churches, a court-house, museum, 
and some fine hotels. The Eagle Tavern ranks 
among the best in the Union. 

Stages leave Buffalo every morning for Utica, via. 
Canandaigua, through in three days, stopping nights ; 
and every evening, through in two days, going day 
and night. — Every day for Rochester. — Every morn- 
ing, at 6 o'clock, for Niagara Falls (on the American 
side), passing through the villages of Black Rock 
and Tonnewanta, distance 23 miles. After remain- 
ing at the Falls two or three hours, this stage pro- 
ceeds to Fort Niagara, passing through Lewiston. 
— Every morning, at 8 o'clock, for Niagara Falls on 
the Canada side, passing through Black Rock, 
crosses the river to Waterloo, passes over the Chip- 
pewa battle-ground, through Chippewa village to 
Niagara Falls ; distance 22 miles. 

Stages leave Niagara for Queenston and Fort 
George, daily, at 3, P. M. 

Steamboats leave Buffalo every morning, at 8 
o'clock, for Chippewa village (passing round Grand 
Island*), and reach there about noon. Stages are 
in readiness at this place to convey passengers to 
the Falls. The boats return to Buffalo at 7 in the 



* Grand Island is 12 miles long, from 2 to 7 broad, and con- 
tains about 48,000 acres of well-timbered land. A company 
from Boston have recently purchased it, and erected a sawing- 
mill. They design taking up the trees entire, and sawing 
frames of vessels to order for the Atlantic cities. Indeed they 
have already sent several to the Boston market. An attempt 
was made in 1825 to establish a Jewish colony on this island, 
but it failed. 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 67 

evening. Steamboats leave twice each day, morn- 
ing and evening, for Detroit, via. Erie, Grand River, 
Cleaveland, and Sandusky; distance 305 miles. — 
Every day for Erie (Penn.), via. Dunkirk and Port- 
land. 

After leaving Buffalo in the stage, and passing the 
village of Black Rock, the Niagara River is crossed 
by a horseboat, and the traveller arrives at the small 
village of Waterloo, on the Canada side ; near 
which are the ruins of the memorable Fort Erie. 
This place is celebrated as the theatre of several 
severe battles during the last war. After passing 15 
miles farther, over a sandy, though very good road, 
the tourist arrives at Chippewa battle-ground. The 
battle of Chippewa, probably one of the most bril- 
liant actions recorded in the annals of war, was 
fought on the 5th of July, 1814. One mile north 
of the battle-ground, the traveller notices a small 
cluster of buildings ; this is the village of Chippewa. 
There are two or three mills in the vicinity, situate 
on Chippewa Creek, which runs through the village. 
Lundy''s Lane is one mile farther north. A san- 
guinary battle was fought here on the 25th of July, 
1814. 

Burning Spring is half a mile north of Lundy's 
Lane. The spring is enclosed by a small building. 
A barrel is placed over the spring, which has a cover 
with a tube in it, through which the gas (sulphuretted 
hydrogen) escapes : when a light is applied, it ignites 
and burns brilliantly. The keeper of the spring re- 
quires a small fee from visiters. Half a mile north 
of this spring are the celebrated 

Niagara Falls. These falls are situated below 
Grand Island, on the, Niagara River, about 20 miles 
from Lake Erie, and 14 miles from Lake Ontario. 



68 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

This river unites the waters of these two lakes, aiid 
is from 1-i- to 6 miles in width. Above the falls the 
banks are from 4 to 100 feet in height, and, imme- 
diately below,- not less than 300. They gradually 
diminish in height until they reach the shores of 
Lake Ontario. The river at the falls is about one 
mile in width ; the cataract pours over a concave 
summit, and falls (on the American side) almost 
perpendicularly 164 feet. The Horse-shoe Fall (on 
the Canada side) descends, in a curved form, pro- 
jecting about 50 feet from its base, to the distance 
of 158 feet. The descent of the rapids above the 
falls about 58 feet, making the whole height over 
200 feet. Table Rock, which projects about 50 feet, 
is generally considered the most eligible place for 
viewing the falls on the Canada side. The descent 
from the rock is by circular steps, which are enclosed; 
at the foot of these stairs commences the passage 
under the great sheet of water, where visitants are 
supplied with dresses and a guide. The farthest 
approachable distance is Termination Rock, 153 feet 
from Table Rock. 

An English writer, in speaking of this passage, 
says, " We reached a spot 153 feet from the outside, 
or entrance, by the assistance of a guide, who makes 
a handsome livelihood by this amphibious pilotage. 
There was a tolerably good, green sort of light 
within this singular cavern ; but the wind blew at 
first in one direction, then in another, with such 
alarming violence, that I thought at first we should 
be fairly carried off our feet, and jerked into the 
roaring caldron beneath. This tempest, however, 
was not nearly so great an inconvenience as the un- 
ceasing deluges of water driven against us. For- 
tunately, the direction of this gale of wind was 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 69 

always more or less upwards, from the pool below, 
Tight against the face of the cliffs ; were it otherwise, 
I fancy it would be impossible to go beliind the falls 
with any chance of coming out again. Even now 
there is a great appearance of hazard in the expe- 
dition, though experience shows that there is no real 
danger. Indeed, the guide, to reassure us, and to 
prove the difficulty of the descent, actually leaped 
downwards to the distance of five or six yards, from 
the top of the bank of rubbish at the base of the 
cliff, along which the path is formed. The gusts of 
wind rising out of the basin or pool below blew so 
violently against him that he easily regained the 
walk." 

The cataract of Niagara, the grandest spectacle 
in the world, suddenly bursting upon the sight of 
its first visiters, who could contemplate nature in her 
wild native dress, must have struck their senses 
more potently, and excited their feelings more in- 
tensely than it can now do of those who see it sur- 
rounded by cultivated fields, and monuments of art.* 
What can we imagine more beautiful, more truly 
sublime, than a majestic river suddenly contracted 
into less tlian half its former width, after tumbling 
over a bed of loose rocks, precipitated, roaring as 



* Father Hennepin, a missionary traveller, who visited the 
Falls in 1679, says, " Between the Lake Ontario and Lake Erie 
there is a vast and prodigious cadence of water, which falls 
down after a surprising and astonishing manner, insomuch that 
the universe does not afford its parallel. This wonderful water- 
fall is about COO feet, and composed of two great cross streams 
of water, and two falls, with an isle sloping across the middle of 
it. The waters which fall from this horrible precipice do foam 
and boil after the most hideous manner imagmable, making an 
outrageous noise, more terrible than that of thunder ; for when 
the wind blows out of the south, their dismal roaring may be 
heard more than fifteen leagues off." 



70 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

it were, with very terror, into a dark caldron below, 
maddened and lashed into foam white as the driven 
snow, and throwing up a thick column of spray tow- 
ering to the very arch of heaven, — a cloud that is 
Been to hang over the Falls by those navigating Erie 
and Ontario — by spectators a hundred miles distant 
from each other. Add to this impression on the eye, 
that made upon the ear, and our own senses partake 
of the wild tumult of the scene. Confused, we 
leave the spot with a true idea of the vast, the 
grand, the sublime. 

The Falls on the American side (divided from the 
British Falls by Goat Island, which stands on the very 
verge of the precipice) are truly magnificent, though 
of less magnitude than the other. Here the ad- 
mirer is presented with a variety of charming views 
and an effective arrangement of the picturesque ; but 
for a single view, in which you would gaze on sub- 
limity itself, take your stand on Table Rock. A 
flight of stairs has been erected a few rods below^ 
the falls descending to the ferry, where a boat with 
good oarsmen is always ready to convey passengers 
to the opposite shore. Many are of opinion that the 
view from the boat, whirling about in the eddies, is 
more interesting than any other : we advise all to 
cross and judge for themselves. 

A bridge, constructed by Gen. P. B. Porter, of 
Black Rock, leads across the rapids to Bath Island, 
a quarter of a mile above the falls, which is con- 
nected to Goat Island by means of another bridge. 
At the toll-house on Bath Island is kept for sale a 
good collection of minerals and other curiosities of 
the country. Brig Island is near, and connected 
with Bath Island by a narrow bridge. It curiously 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANV. 71 

resembles the main and quarter decks of a brig, and 
is a delightful spot whereon to sip an ice or lemonade. 

Goat Island, sometimes called Iris, is laid out in 
deUghtful walks, which are shaded by a great variety 
of the lofty trees of the American forest. It de- 
rived its name from the fact of an aged and vener- 
able goat having resided, and held undisputed right 
there, for several years prior to its being trodden by 
human feet. There are many fine views of the 
rapids above, and of the grand fall on the Canada 
side, from several points on the island.* At the 
foot of this island is the Blddle Stairway, erected by 
N. Biddle, Esq., president of the U. S. Bank. Near 
this place Sam Patch, who affirmed " Some things 
can be done as well as others," and whose ambition 
led him to seek fame by sinking rather than rising in 
the world, made a leap of 118 feet descent into the 
water below, from a platform supported by ladders 
erected for the purpose. This was in the fall of 
1829, a short time previous to his last fatal jump at 
Rochester. 

Terrapin Bridge extends about ten feet over the 
precipice of the Crescent Fall, and affords a splendid 
view, though one that intimidates the gentle, and 
makes " the brave stand still." It naturally excites 
queer emotions to find one's self suspended, as it 
were, in mid-air, over a yawning precipice, and 
causes an involuntary shudder as we turn our eyes 
from the giddy depths, and the ever-falling cataract. 

* When an object in the rapids approaches within a certain, 
distance of the falls, it is difficult to rescue it, by reason of a 
magnetic attraction towards the precipice : hence the legend of 
the Indian, who, finding his canoe within the influence of this 
attraction, gave up all hope, laid down his paddle, swallowed 
the last drop in his flask, shrouded himself in his blanket, and 
was precipitated over the fall. 



73 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

The Castle is located about midway of this bridge, 
and has a camera ohsciira on its summit, which pre- 
sents an effective miniature of the falls and rapids, 
particularly when the sun shines, as there are then 
always several rainbows in the vicinity. The lunar 
how, occasionally seen, is very beautiful. 

Whirlpool, 3 miles below the falls, is a curious 
combination of small pools, constantly generating 
and vanishing, included in one large sweep or pool, 
which is caused by a sudden elbow in the channel. 
It appears to the best advantage at low water ; and, 
at such times, the same log has frequently been 
known to remain whirling about in the pool more 
than a month. The prevailing idea, that nothing 
passes the whirlpool, that it is fathomless, and that 
every thing coming within its vortex is swallowed up 
and hurled into oblivion is entirely erroneous. The 
rapids for a mile above here are beautiful, beyond 
comparison with those above the falls. 

DeviVs Hole is 1 mile farther down, and exhibits 
a precipice very favourable to the idea that the falls 
were once there. The theory that they have receded 
even from Lewiston has generally obtained, though, 
admitting it, their progress must have been extremely 
gradual, as La Hontaine* described them in their 
present position more than one hundred and fifty 
years ago. There is a tradition, that during the old 
French war, a party of traders, with their horses, 
wagons, and baggage, were precipitated from the road 

* Baron La Hontaine, who visited the Falls in 1683, says, " As 
for the waterfall of Niagara, 'tis 7 or 800 feet high, and half a 
league broad. Towards the middle of it we descry an island 
that leans towards the precipice, as if it were ready to fall. All 
the beasts that cross the water witliin half a quarter of a league 
(660 yards) above this unfortunate island are sucked in by force 
of the stream." 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 73 

into this horrible chasm by a gang of hostile Indians 
whom they met when passing to Lake Erie. 

The Pavilion Hotel, on the Canada side, is situ- 
ated on a commanding spot above the falls. The 
visiter has a beautiful view of the surrounding coun- 
try from the roof or piazzas. It is a handsome 
building, and capable of accommodating over 100 
persons. 

The City of the Falls is laid out a short distance 
below the Pavilion, and several pretty cottages have 
already been erected. The land was purchased here 
by a company last year, with a view to selling 
building-lots to the inhabitants of our Atlantic cities, 
as well as foreigners, who may desire a private sum- 
mer residence at the falls. 

There is a neat pretty village on the American 
side, called Manchester^ in which are two fine hotels, 
both owned and kept by Gen. Whitney, whose pleas- 
ing manner, general urbanity, and good catering has 
secured him the patronage of a great portion of the 
visiters to the falls. From here there are stages 
going daily and almost hourly to Lewiston, a small 
village located on the ridge, forming the celebrated 
Ridge-road from Rochester to Lewiston, and in ap- 
pearance a very garden of fertility. From here the 
American steamboats leave three times a week for 
Ogdensburgh (on the route to Montreal) and the in- 
termediate places. Conveyances are also constantly 
plying from the British side to Queenston, directly 
opposite Lewiston, from which place the British 
boats depart on the route towards Montreal. 

Brock's Monument. This tribute to the memory 
of the gallant Sir Isaac Brock, who fell in an action 
with the Americans under Gen. Solomon Van Rens- 
selaer, October 13, 1812, was erected a few years 
Q 



74 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

since by several spirited individuals of Upper Can- 
ada. It has a base of about 20 feet square, with a 
spiral shaft extending to a height of 126 feet. A 
statue of Brock is intended to be placed on its sum- 
mit. It is located on the heights, about a quarter of 
a mile from Queenston, and affords the visiter a rich 
and varied view from its pinnacle. 

The steamboats leaving Lewiston are, United 
States, Capt. J. Van Cleve ; Oswego, Capt. J. Ho- 
mans ; and William Avery, Capt. Read. On the 
British side, leaving Queenston, Great Britain, Capt. 
Whitney; William IV., Capt. Hilliard ; Cohourg, 
Capt. Mlntosh; and St. George, Capt. Harper. A 
boat will leave Lewiston or Queenston every day of 
the week. There are on the lake and St. Lawrence, 
between Ogdensburgh and Niagara, other boats : — 
United Kingdom, Queenston, Transit. Kingston, 
Sir James Kempt, Britannia, Black Hawk, Charles 
Carroll, Perseverance, Brockville, Iroquois, Canada, 
Caroline, Prescott, and Commodore Barr'ie. 

Leaving Lewiston the boat proceeds down the 
Niagara, whose verdant banks, still deep-moving 
current, and transparent surface cause us uncon- 
sciously to contrast. the scene with the one we have 
last gazed on. — There are the " troubled waters," 
mad, billowy, and raging : here, calm, mild, and 
submissive, subsided into childlike placidity. As thou 
, hast done since the creation of time, mayst thou 
ever 

" Flow on, thou shining river !" 

The ftrst stop is at Youngstown, half a mile from 
the mouth of the river ; and the next at Fort Niagara, 
famed as the place of Morgan's imprisonment, which 
is located directly at the junction of the river and 
the lake. This place is fortified, but not garrisoned; 
and ii! now used as a recruitins: station. Raw re- 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 75 

cruits are here drilled for a time, and then sent to 
the western frontier. The village of Niagara, for- 
merly called Newark, is directly across the river, and 
is quite an enterprising place. A dry -dock, of suf- 
ficient capacity to take out the largest vessels, has 
just been completed there. The ruins of Fort George 
are still to be seen there. The Welland Canal, con- 
necting the lakes Erie and Ontario, empties into 
Lake Ontario about 14 miles above this place. 
Many vessels ply regularly between the different 
ports on both lakes by means of this canal, though 
it is frequently out of repair, having never been fully 
finished. It was originally owned in part by the 
government of Upper Canada ; and the rest, being 
the major part, by individuals who in 1834 pro- 
posed to relinquish their stock, on condition that the 
government would reimburse them principal and in- 
terest. On the 28th January, 1834, the legislature 
passed a resolution acceding to the terms ; but on 
the following day had a reconsideration, which re- 
sulted in appropriating $200,000 for the improve- 
ment of the canal: which placed it in a com- 
plete condition, beneficial to the community and 
profitable to the proprietors. 

We' now strike out on the pure, broad waters of 
Lake Ontario, which is the boundary between the 
United States and Canada. It is 180 miles in length, 
and varies in breadth from 30 to 60 miles. The 
water is very deep, clear, and cold, and abounds 
with fine fish — the sturgeon, salmon, muskalonge, as 
also a great variety of smaller ones ; and from the 
following account of John Maude, under the date of 
August, 28th 1800, it seems that more uncomely fish 
were once, and perhaps now are, the tenants of this 
great inland sea : "A boat that had sailed from York, 



76 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

the present seat of government, unexpectedly re- 
tiii-ned again ; the people on board relating with great 
terror their having seen a great snake, at least thirty 
feet long ; v^^hich, from its rearing its head and fore- 
part of its body out of the water, they conjectured 
meant to attack them. The Indians present, who 
have always a corroborating story ready, asserted, 
that their people had seen three such snakes, and 
had killed two !" 

York,* the seat of government of Upper Canada, 
is 36 miles from Fort Niagara, directly across the 
lake. The harbour is formed by a peninsula ex- 
tending into the lake, and affords great protection to 
vessels in hard weather, though it is very difficult of 
entrance, the channel being quite narrow. On the 
extremity of the peninsula a light-house is located ; 
and opposite, on the mainland, is the garrison and 
the battle-ground where the gallant Pike fell. 

York is a busy, bustling town, and presents more 
nearly the appearance of an American village than 
any other in the Canadas : there are a great number 
of stores, and many of them are kept by young men 
from the States. It is uncommonly thriving ; and 
the value of property is nearly as high as in the city 
of New-York : more than 300 buildings were 
erected in 1833. It was taken by the Americans, 
under Gen. Dearborn, in 1813, and soon after 
evacuated. 

There is a singular sect in this vicinity, of whom 
you occasionally see a specimen in town, called 
Tankers or Dunkards : they present a most extra- 
ordinary appearance, wearing beards nearly two feet 
long, little skimmer hats, and long-skirted coats. 

* The American boats generally tonch here on their pas- 
gage up or down the lake. This city is now called " Toronto." 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. / / 

Some miles in the interior is the village of Hope^ 
which is inhabited by a still more peculiar sect of 
people, the Davidites, or Children of Peace, who de- 
rive their name from its founder and present leader 
David Willson. The village consists of 40 or 50 
neat dwellings, and has a picturesque location on 
the declivity of a hill : but what renders it most im- 
posing is David''s Temple, erected last year on the 
summit of the hill. It is 70 feet square at the base, 
of a pyramidical shape, and about 80 feet in height, 
with a pulpit and orchestra in the interior. Con- 
nected with the society is a band of singing virgins, 
who have an annual feast, at which they celebrate 
their rehgion after the manner of the Mosaic, and 
demonstrate their joy by singing, dancing, &c. 
AA^ien one of the sect wishes to matrimonialize a 
virgin, he informs David of the fact, who appoints a 
" time and place" of meeting, and allows the pair 
two hours to determine whether 

" 'Tis better bear the ills they have, 
Or fly to others which they know not of." 

David keeps the store, makes their laws, is arbitra- 
tor, judge, advocate, and general financier. 

Charlotte, a small village at the mouth of the 
Genesee River, is the next landing-place. There is 
a good light-house here, and the government has 
recently erected piers, by which it is rendered a safe 
harbour. It is 110 miles from York, though only 85 
miles from Niagara, along the coast. Ascending the 
Genesee, a beautiful meandering river, quite narrow, 
enclosed in high banks, with scenery not unhke that 
of the Hudson, — 5 miles, we arrive at Carthage or 
North Rochester ; at which place the boat is gene- 
rally delayed from three to five hours, giving the 
G 2 



78 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

passengers time to visit the city of Rochester,* 
3 miles distant (by means of a rail-road), and return 
to pursue their tour. The " Lower Falls" of the 
Genesee are at Carthage, and well worthy a visit. 
The wreck of the far-famed " Carthage Bridge" is 
here to be seen. A single arch of 300 feet chord 
and 250 elevation formed the bridge. Leaving here 
.the boat proceeds 65 miles, and enters the harbour of 

Oswego. This is a fast-growing village, located 
on an elevated site at the mouth of the Oswego 
River, the channel through which Oneida, Cayuga, 
Seneca, and several smaller lakes discharge their 
surplus waters into Lake Ontario. The village has 
many natural advantages as a manufacturing and 
commercial town, besides those given by the com- 
pletion of the Oswego and Welland canals, and will 
always be one of the most important places on the 
northern frontier. The village lies on both sides of 
the river, and is connected by a bridge 700 feet long. 
It comprises several fine churches, mills, ware- 
houses, and a bank, and lies 75 miles north-west of 
Utica, for which place stages and canal-packets 
leave daily. Its present population is about 4000. 
There is a fine harbovu- here, formed by a pier across 
the mouth of the river, which has been erected by 
the United States' government, at an expense of 
about $100,000, though in consequence of some 
counteraction of the current it is now much ob- 
structed. Vessels drawing ten feet water ground in 
the channel. 

Oswego is favoured with extensive water privi- 
leges, formed by falls in the river a short distance 
from the village. A very extensive canal is being 

* For description of Rochester, seepage 61. 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 79 

completed on the west bank of the river, for the pur- 
pose of supplying power to mills and manufactories, 
which will doubtless add to the already prosperous 
condition of the place, as well as give a rich return 
to the spirited and enterprising individual who caused 
its construction. 

The ruins of Fort Osivego, erected in 1727, and 
Fort Ontario, in 1755, both of which figure con- 
spicuously in the annals of the French and Revolu- 
tionary wars, are here to be seen. They were taken 
by the French in 1756, but soon after retaken. The 
British took Oswego in 1814, but evacuated it im- 
mediately. 

Sackett's Harbour, 40 miles farther, is the next 
place at which the boat stops. This is a small vil- 
lage, remarkable for nothing except the importance 
it acquired by being the head-quarters of the army 
and navy on the lake during the late war. The 
principal objects worthy of notice are, the U. S. 
barracks, and the large ship still on the stocks and 
enclosed, it not having been finished when peace 
was declared. 

Black River empties into the harbour (which is 
the best on the lake) a little north of the village. A 
stage leaves here, daily, for Utica, 98 miles distant. 
Passing Stony, Gallop, Pigeon, and the Royal Duck 
Islands on the left, Bull-Rock and Bear Points, Gren- 
adier, and Simcoe Islands on the right, the boat 
arrives at the town of 

Kingston, U. C, which lies 38 miles directly 
across the lake from Sackett's Harbour, and at the 
head of the British channel of the St. Lawrence 
River. This is a flourishing town in the Midland 
District of Upper Canada, about 200 miles south- 
west of Montreal. Its principal buildings are, the 



80 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

Court-House, Episcopal Church, the Barracks of 
His Majesty, and two Banks, the " Commercial," and 
a Branch of the " Bank of Upper Canada." 

The Garrison is on the peninsula across the bay, 
and presents a very grand and formidable appear- 
ance when approached from the lake or river. It is 
so located as to aiford almost perfect security to the 
town, in case of invasion. The officers are gentle- 
men, and afford every facility to strangers visiting 
the establishment. Several vessels are seen on the 
stocks, where they have stood ever since the late war. 

The Rideau Canal, communicating wath ^y-Tow;?!, 
on the Ottawa or Grand River, commences here. It 
has been in operation a short time, and promises to 
be of great value to the public, if not to government, 
as it opens a communication with a fertile region 
of country before hardly known, — abounding with 
scenery, the cragged tree-topped mountain, the sport- 
ing water-fall, and the shining river, which, for bold- 
ness and beauty, cannot be surpassed. 

Mr. Hume, whose book, " Canada as it is," we re- 
commend to the Canadian traveller, says, " All must 
acknowledge the beauty and sublimity of the Alps, 
the stupendous grandeur of Niagara ; but the di- 
versified and interesting scenery of the Ottawa must 
not be denied." 

The boat now enters the noble St. Lawrence ; and 
at the foot of Long or Grand Island, on the right, 
about 10 miles from Kingston, we approach the 
Thousand Islands, It is said that these islands 
number 1300, though they are not, as many suppose, 
included within a circumference of a few miles, but 
embrace a distance of nearly fifty miles. He who 
could count the islands in this strange labyrinth, 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 81 

must have been possessed of the most indefatigable 
— yea, of more than woman's curiosity. 

The next stop is at the American village called 
Cornelia, 23 miles from Kingston. French Creek 
empties into the river near the village. This creek 
derives its name from there having been a French 
settlement at its mouth during the French war. 

Alexandria Bay is 12 miles farther. Here the 
boats generally take in wood, which delays them an 
hour or two, during which time passengers may in- 
dulge in the luxury of contemplating a " rock-bound 
shore." A wag once remarked of this place, that 
" he hardly knew where the inhabitants found earth 
enough to bury their dead." The Red-ivood Glass- 
works are near here. Proceeding 24 miles farther 
through this chaos of islands, we arrive at 

Brockville. This place took its name from Gen. 
Sir Isaac Brock, and is decidedly the neatest-looking 
village in all the Canadas. 

MoRRiSTowN, an American village, is nearly op- 
posite here. The last of the Thousand Islands is 
seen here. Eleven miles farther, on a most beauti- 
ful sheet of water one and a quarter miles in width, 
and v/e arrive at 

Ogdensburgh. This village contains a population 
of about 2000, has considerable trade, and a good 
harbour in the mouth of the Oswegatchie River. 
Here is the terminating point of navigable water for 
vessels from Lake Ontario ; and the place where 
goods are trans-shipped from the steamboats and 
schooners to batteaux, and by them carried down the 
rapids to Montreal, 110 miles distant. It is equi- 
distant, 120 miles, from Utica and Plattsburgh. 

Prescott, a small village opposite here, is where 
the Canadian vessels trans-ship goods, passengers, &c. 



82 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

There are two fine steamboats here, which have 
been constructed expressly with a view to running 
the rapids, — the Brockville and the Iroquois. One 
of these generally leaves on the arrival of the large 
boats, and proceeds, passing the Gallop Rapid, Rapid 
Plat, and through scenery of the most impressive 
and bewitching character, to Dickinson's Landing, 
38 miles on the route to Montreal. Here you take 
stage-coach for 12 miles (avoiding the rapid called 
the Lo?ig Sault, where the water is so swift, that 
should the boats descend, they would be unable to 
return), which brings you to Cornwall. Here you 
embark on board the steamboat, which goes 41 miles 
to CoTEAU Du Lac, passing the Indian village of St. 
Regis. From the Coteau you proceed by land to 
the foot of the rapids called the Cascades, 16 miles, 
when you again take steamboat on Lalce St. Francis, 
24 miles, to Lachine, a long, straggling, uninteresting 
village. From here a stage ride of 9 miles and you 
arrive at the city of Montreal. 

Montreal is located on an island, of the same 
name, 32 miles in length, by 10 in breadth. It is 
the largest city in either of the Canadian provinces, 
extending two miles on the river, and half a mile 
back ; is located at the head of ship navigation, and 
may be considered the metropolis of the British do- 
minions on the St. Lawrence and the lakes. Its 
population is about 30,000. The principal trade 
here is in lumber, flour, ashes, and provisions, a 
great proportion of which are received from the 
United States, and here shipped for Great Britain and 
the British West Indies. 

There is a college, with 300 students, and several 
magnificent buildings in the city. The English 
Church, Hotel Dieu, Government-House, Court- 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 83 

House, Theatre, Museum, several convents, and the 
Catholic Churchy which is undoubtedly the finest re- 
ligious edifice in America. It is 225 feet in length, 
and will accommodate 10,000 persons. The Nelson 
Monu7nent is near the market-place. " The Moun- 
tain," a great resort for strangers, is near, and 
affords an extensive and very beautiful view of the 
city and surrounding country. 

Montreal is 393 miles north of New- York, and 
280 N. N.W. of Boston. The river is here about 
two miles in width ; and the current is so rapid that 
all vessels are towed up from Quebec, 170 miles 
below, by steamboats, of which there are a great 
number, and those of the first order. The Canada^ 
Capt. Brush, and St. George, Capt. Armstrong, are 
ranked first on the list. 

Tourists generally make a trip from here to Que- 
bec, a place with many attractions for strangers, 
grand fortifications, and beautiful scenery, though the 
most interesting object, the Castle of St. Louis, was 
destroyed by fire this year, and return to proceed on 
their way to Albany, via. of Lake Champlain, Lake 
George, and the Springs. The scenery on the St. 
Lawrence between Montreal and Quebec is beautiful 
almost beyond description, and is rendered doubly in- 
teresting by nearly an unbroken row of houses on each 
bank, interspersed with a church at intervals of six 
and nine miles. 

The mode of proceeding from Montreal is to take 
steamboat for La Prairie, 9 miles, where stages are 
in readiness to convey passengers 18 miles to St. 
Johns, the foot of navigation on Lake Champlain. 
Many of the most interesting events of our country 
are associated with the history of this lake. During 
the French and Revolutionary wars, St. Johns was a 



84 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

post of considerable importance as a frontier town. 
It is a place of considerable business, and contains 
over 800 inhabitants, though it does not present the 
most prepossessing appearance. The steamboats 
Franklin,, Capt. Sherman, and Phcemx, Capt. Lathrop, 
leave St. Johns alternately every day for Whitehall, 
150 miles distant. Jsle Aux Noix, 14 miles from 
St. Johns, is a strong military and naval post, in pos- 
session of the English. The establishment is for- 
tified and in a good state of repair. A few troops 
are still kept here. 

Plattsburgh, 37 miles farther, is located on a 
pleasant site, at the mouth of the Saranac River, on 
the west side of the lake. Here it was that Mac 
Donough and M'Comb achieved a brilliant victory 
over the British under the command of Provost and 
Downie, in the last war, September 11, 1814. 

The British army consisted of about 14,000 men, 
while the American army was composed of 3000 
undisciplined troops. This handful of stout-hearted 
ploughmen kept the contending forces at bay for 
about two hours, and finally obliged them to retire 
with a loss of about 2500 men. The battle on the 
lake and on land was going on at the same time, and 
in sight of each other. Eighty-six guns and 820 
men constituted the American force on the lake, 
opposing ninety-five guns and 1050 men. Commo- 
dore Downie fell in the engagement ; and a neat 
monument has been erected to his memory, in the 
churchyard at Plattsburgh, which bears a neat and 
impressive inscription. Several other officers are 
here buried, having no monument or record to inform 
us that they " lived and died," save that engraven on 
the hearts of their countrymen. Gen. M'Comb's 
cantonment and brea,«tworks, and the house in which 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. S5 

Gen. Provost held his head-quarters, are in the near 
vicinity. 

The many associations connected with this vil- 
lage wrill be sure to interest the traveller, and make 
a stay of a day or two any thing but disagreeable. It 
contains between 2000 and 3000 inhabitants, and 
about 350 houses ; among which are the Court- 
House and County Jail. — Fifteen miles farther and 
we arrive at 

Port Kent. This is a small village which has 
grown up within a few years, and promises a con- 
tinuance of prosperity. Passengers for Keeseville 
generally land here. From here, looking north, may 
be seen Grand Island, Two Sisters, Isle la Motte, 
Point la Roche, Cumberland Head, and Belcore and 
Macomb's Islands : on the east. Stave, Providence, 
and Hog Islands, Colchester Point ; and in the back- 
ground, the Green Mountains of A'ermont : on the 
south, the village of Burlington, and the high peak, 
called the Camel's Rump ; the tout ensemble forming a 
more pleasing and picturesque view than imagination 
can invent. 

Burlington is 1 1 miles farther, on the east side 
of the lake. The village is located on a gentle ac- 
clivity, rising gradually from the lake, and presents 
an appearance similar to many others in the New- 
England States, which have so often been admired 
by travellers. The University of Vermont is located 
on the summit of the eminence, and affords a splen- 
did view of the lake and surrounding country. The 
village consists of about 300 buildings, among which 
are two Banks, Court-House, Jail, and three Churches, 

TicoNDEROGA is 50 milcs farther, and is the place 
where pleasure-travellers generally leave the boat, in 
order to take Lake George in their tour, though some 
H 



86 WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 

proceed to Whitehall, 24 miles farther, and there take 
stage for Saratoga via. Sandy Hill or Albany. The fort 
and ruins of Ticonderoga are objects of great interest, 
and are frequently visited. The fortress was con- 
structed by the French in 1756, and, judging from 
the walls which still remain, must have been uncom- 
monly strong. It stands about 200 feet above the 
level of the lake. The magazine, under ground, of 
stone, built arching, remains nearly entire ; it is 35 
feet long, 15 feet wide, and 8 feet high. A subter- 
raneous passage of 20 or 30 rods in length leads 
from it to the lake. When Col. Ethan Allen took 
the fort, " m the name of the Great Jehovah, and the 
Continental Congress,'''' he passed through this chan- 
nel. This was in 1775. — From here a ride of three 
miles takes the tourist to the steamboat landing, at 
the outlet of 

Lake George. This is a beautiful lake, 36 miles in 
length, and varying from three-quarters of a mile to 
4 miles in width. " There are few places where a 
greater variety of inducements attract the stranger 
than at Lake George. Besides the interest which is 
excited from an association of many important historic 
events, this place is rendered peculiarly interesting 
from the unrivalled exhibition of the beautiful and 
romantic scenery presented by the lake and its en- 
virons." Having taken passage on board the steamer 
Mountaineer, we pass Prisoner'^s Island, Anthomfs 
Nose (this is a standard name ; and we as much ex- 
pect a promontory on every river and lake, with this 
cognomen, as we expect to see Daniel Lambert in 
every museum), Roger'' s Slide, Sabbath-Day Point, 
Half-icay Island, and Black Monntain, which is 2200 
feet in height. Passing Tongne Mountain, and 
Phelps''s Deer-Pasture, we arrive at the head of the 



WESTERN ROUTE FROM ALBANY. 87 

lake, where stands the village of Caldwell, which 
is 36 miles from our starting point ; and the asser- 
tion is ventured, that no passage of an equal dis- 
tance can furnish so rich and diversifying a prospect. 
The lake is interspersed with a great number of 
small islands ; and its smooth, clear, green surface is 
strikingly contrasted with the high and rugged shores 
M^hich enclose it. 

The village of Caldwell contains about 300 in- 
habitants, and has a good hotel capable of accom- 
modating 80 persons. It has a Church, Court-House, 
and Post-Office. Prospect Hill, which is near, affords 
a rich and diversified prospect from the summit. It 
is 27 miles from Saratoga; and fishing excursions 
are frequently made from there to Caldwell, where 
tackle, boats, &c. are furnished at the hotel. There 
are daily conveyances from Caldwell, passing Glenn'' s 
Falls to the Saratoga Springs,* from which place 
rail-road cars depart for Albany, via. Schenectady, 
several times every day. 

* For description of the Springs, &c, see page 92. 



ROUTE FROM ALBANY TO BALLSTON 
AND SARATOGA SPRINGS. 

Since the completion of the rail-roads, nearly all 
travellers to Ballston and Saratoga go by way of 
Schenectady, where they change cars and proceed 
direct to the Springs, by the Schenectady and Sara- 
toga Rail-road. It is 36|- miles by rail-road, and 
considerably the most expeditious route ; however, 
some persons, who travel for information as well as 
pleasure, still prefer the old route, which we here 
describe : 

On the road to Troy, at the northern extremity of 
the city, is the Mansion House of Gen. Stephen Van 
Rensselaer, who is possessed of an immense estate 
(extending 10 miles along the river, and nearly 20 
east and west), and bears the old Dutch title of 
" Patroon of Albany." His liberality in advancing 
literature, agriculture, and charitable institutions is 
proverbial, as he contributes largely to all. Here 
the stage strikes the Macadamized I'oad, which was 
finished in 1831, between Troy and Albany.' It is 
six miles in length, and cost over $90,000. After 
travelhng five miles upon this delightful road, you 
arrive at the U. S. Arsenal, located in a most eligible 
situation on the west bank of the Hudson. The 
buildings are constructed of brick and stone. From 
the arsenal to the upper ferry is a continued range 
of houses, divided into three villages, viz. : Watervliet, 
Port Schuyler, and West Troy; but where the lines 
of distinction between these places are drawn it is 



ROUTE FROM ALBANY TO THE SPRINGS. 89 

difficult to tell. There are two routes hence to 
Waterford ; one leading through Troy and Lansing- 
burgh, and the other by the junction of the Erie and 
Northern canals and Cohoes Falls, which are worthy 
of a visit. The traveller can pass over both routes 
in going to and returning from the Springs. In pur- 
suing the Troy and Lansiyighurgh route, the stage 
crosses the Hudson in a horseboat from West Troy 
to the city of Troy. 

The city of Troy is located on the eastern bank 
of the Hudson; and the scenery in the vicinity is re- 
markable for its beauty, presenting on all hands the 
alternation of hill and vale, covered with refreshing 
verdure, and the indications of a fertile soil. The 
streets in the city cross at right-angles, running east 
and west, and north and south. The buildings are 
many of them elegant, and generally of brick ; and 
in some streets are shaded by trees on each side. 
Among them are four Banks, seven Churches, a 
Court-PIouse, Jail, and Market. The most splendid 
are, the Episcopal church (a beautiful specimen of 
Gothic architecture), the Court-House, a very fine 
building ; the Merchants' and Mechanics' Bank, 
and the Farmers' Bank, adjoining each other, both 
built of freestone, are very respectable buildings. 
The Troij Female Seminary, under the superintend- 
ence of Mrs. Willard, occupies a large four-story 
brick building belonging to the corporation. The 
population of Troy is about 13,000. A canal packet- 
boat leaves here daily at 9 o'clock, for Whitehall, and 
runs through in about 22 hours. A rail-road is being 
built to connect it with Ballston Spa. 

Mount Ida is in the rear of Troy. From the 
summit of this hill there is a beautiful view of the 
river and surrounding country. 
H2 



90 ROUTE FROM ALBANY TO THE SPRINGS. 

The Rensselaer School is one and a half miles 
north of Troy. It is in a flourishing condition, and 
was established under the patronage of Gen. Ste- 
phen Van Rensselaer. 

Lansingburgh consists of one long street, running 
parallel with the river. It is 3 miles from Troy. 
It was formerly a place of considerable business, 
but it has now a somewhat dilapidated appearance. 
The far-famed " diamond rock" is on a hill in the 
rear of the village. It has at times a very brilliant 
appearance from the reflected rays of the sun. One 
mile north, a very staunch bridge crosses the river to 
the village of 

Waterford. This is an important village, located 
at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson : the 
Northern canal communicates with the river at this 
place, which gives it many advantages for trade. It 
has a population of 1700. There is a fine hotel 
kept at Waterford by Mr. Demarest, and another by 
Mr. Fisk. 

The Route by the junction of the canals, and 
the Cohoes Falls, from West Troy to Waterford, is 
about the same distance as by Troy (4 miles). From 
West Troy to the junction of the Erie and Northern 
canals is 2 miles. There are 17 locks on the canal 
at this place, within the space of three-fourths of a 
mile. About a mile farther, a bridge crosses the 
Mohawk River and affords a fine view of the 

CoHOES Falls, which are about a mile above the 
bridge. The descent of the rapids above the falls 
is about 30 feet, and the perpendicular fall is 40 
feet, making a total descent of 70 feet. There is a 
path by which persons approach within a few feet 
of the precipice over which the cataract falls. It is 



ROUTE FROM ALBANY TO THE SPRINGS. 91 

1 mile from the Cohoes to Waterford, and 8 miles 
farther north to 

Mechanicville, generally called by the inhabitants 
the Borough. It contains about 20 dwellings, a 
cotton-factory, and a number of mills. 
'^ Dunniyig-street is 8 miles north-west of Mechanic- 
ville, containing a few dwellings, two taverns, and a 
store. It derived its name from a family, who were 
the first settlers, and still reside there. Four miles 
thence, in a north-westerly direction, is the Ballston 
Spa, and Saratoga Springs are 8 miles north. A 
road goes from here direct to Saratoga, which is 
3 miles nearer than by way of Ballston Spa. 

Ballston Spa is the resort of hundreds of trav- 
ellers during the summer months. There are a num- 
ber of springs in the vicinity, the waters of which 
are not unlike those of Saratoga. A beautiful creek 
flows along the east end of the village, called the 
Kayaderosseras, on which a mill is situated a short 
distance from the village. This creek is a great re- 
sort for sportsmen, particularly those who delight to 
sit on the bank of a meandering brook, 

" And from their depths, delude the spotted fry." 

Two of the springs are near Mr. Aldridge^s Boarding- 
house ; and the U. S. Spring is at the east end of the 
village, near the Sans Souci Hotel. A large bathing- 
house is located near this spring, which is furnished 
with waters (for the purposes of bathing) from all 
the different springs in the vicinity. There is in the 
village a Court-House, two Churches, an Academy, 
and a Female Seminary ; also a printing-office and 
bookstore, to which a reading-room is attached. 
This village was chartered in 1807, and is directed 
by three trustees, who are chosen annually. Its 



92 ROUTE FROM ALBANY TO THE SPRINGS. 

population is about 800, and it contains 130 houses. 
The principal hotels are 

The Smis Souci, kept by Mr. Loomis ; this is the 
most extensive, and has more company than any 
other house. It is three stories high, 160 feet in 
length, with two back wings of 150 feet, and capable 
of accommodating over 100 persons. There is a 
large garden attached to it. 

Aldridge's Boarding-house has a more retired lo- 
cation, and receives a good share of patronage. 
There is an extensive and beautiful garden connected 
with this establishment, which is always open to the 
guests. 

The Village Hotel, kept by Mr. Clark, is a few 
doors from the 8ans Souci, and is a very agreeable 
boarding-house. 

The Mansion House is in the centre of the village. 

M)\s. M'-Master's private Boarding-house is near the 
west spring on the flat. Those who wish a retired 
situation will be pleased witli this house. 

A regular mail arrives and departs every day. 
Strangers should be particular to have their letters 
directed " Ballston Spa," as there is another post- 
office in the town of Ballston. 

Ballston Lake is 6 miles from the village, and 
a ride to its banks affords a very pleasant excursion. 
It is 5 miles long and 1 in width. Hunting and 
lishing abound on the borders and in the waters of 
this lake. 

Saratoga Springs are situated 7 miles from ' 
Ballston Spa, in a north-easterly direction. The 
celebrity of these springs, not only for their medi- 
cinal qualities, but as a fashionable resort during the 
summer months, renders any minuteness of detail 
unnecessary, were it not incompatible with the ob- 



ROUTE FROM ALBANY TO THE SPRINGS. 93 

jects and dimensions of this work. The springs 
are numerous ; and among the most celebrated are 
the Congress, Hamilton, High-Rock, Columbian, 
Washington, President, and Flat-Rock. They he 
east of the village, on the borders of a valley. The 
Congress spring is the most important, and has the 
best accommodations for visiters. The High-Rock 
spring, so called from its being enclosed in a rock 
of a conical shape, five feet in height, over the sides 
of which it formerly flowed, is nearly half a mile 
from the Congress spring. The water in the former 
now rises only to witliin two feet of the summit of 
the rock, and from this circumstance it is conjectured, 
probably with correctness, that it has found an outlet 
beneath its base. Commodious bathing-houses are 
established at the Washington, Hamilton, and Mon- 
roe springs. A library and a suit of reading-rooms 
are connected with a bookstore in the village. They 
are conveniently arranged, and well furnished with 
periodicals, newspapers, maps, &:c. A mineralogical 
collection is also attached to this establishment, con- 
taining a variety of specimens, both European and 
American, and all those discovered in the neighbour- 
hood. A book is also kept here, in which the names 
of visiters to the Springs are registered. The public 
houses here are conducted on an extensive scale, 
and equal, in elegance, and the accommodations 
afforded the traveller, to the hotels of our largest 
cities. Congress Hall, kept by Messrs. J. & J. 
Westcott, is located in the near vicinity of the Con- 
gress spring. Its dimensions are large, its situation 
ehgible, and a shaded avenue communicates with the 
spring; and it can accommodate about 200 persons. 
The United States^ Hotel is situated in the centre of 
the village, and being four stories in height, has a 



91 ROUTE FROM ALBANY TO THE SPRINGS. 

very imposing appearance. Other buildings have 
been added to the main one. This estabhshment is 
partly surrounded by grounds, laid out in a tasteful 
manner, and shaded by flourishing trees. It is a 
splendid house, and admirably kept by Mr. J. M. 
Marvin. The Pavilion is next in importance. It is 
built of w^ood, and ornamented with colonnades in 
front of very chaste architecture. It is near the 
Flat-Rock spring, is conveniently arranged, and can 
accommodate nearly 150 visiters. It is kept by Mr. 
John Ford. The Union Hall is also an extensive 
and commodious hotel. It is situated opposite Con- 
gress Hall, is three stories high, and has a spacious 
piazza in front, supported by ten lofty pillars. The 
grounds connected with this house are laid out with 
taste. Its internal arrangements are convenient, and 
its landlord, Mr. W. Putnam, thoroughly understands 
the art of making his guests comfortable. The 
Columbian Hotel, situated near the Pavilion, in tlie 
midst of gardens, is also a good house, and will not 
lose by comparison with its rivals. It is kept by 
Mr. Williams. In a more retired position, is Wash- 
ington Hall, of which Mr. I. Taylor is proprietor ; 
pleasantly situated at the north part of the village, 
where the invalid, and those who do not mingle with 
the gay throng, who pursue pleasure instead of health, 
may be accommodated in the best style. Amuse- 
ment is always to be found during a sojourn here. 
Besides that which arises from tlie contemplation of 
the various shades of character with which the 
crowded scene is enlivened, the library, the reading- 
rooms, the billiard-rooms, and dancing, which seems 
to prevail among the fashionable invalids, afford all 
the opportunities for killmg Time — that arch enemy 
— which could be desired. There are also ponds in 



ROUTE FROM ALBANY TO THE SPRINGS. 95 

the vicinity, where the angler can reahze all the plea- 
sures so philosophically described by honest Isaac 
Walton: and true enjoyment certainly consists in a 
privilege 

" To walk, ride, sit, or sleep, at one's own ease, 
And please a man's self, none other to displease." 

Excursions of a few miles to Saratoga Lake are 
frequently made, where the visiter can spend his 
time in trout-fishing, or shooting, or enjoy a sail along 
the lake, which is 9 miles in length, in boats kept 
ready for the purpose. Tliere are two pleasant 
houses on the western border of the lake. The 
mail from New- York arrives every evening, and 
leaves for New- York and Boston every morning. 
Visiters should order their letters to be directed to 
the Saratoga Sp7'ings, as there is another post-office 
in the town of Saratoga, some miles distant, to 
which, otherwise, they may chance to be sent. 



STAGE ROUTE. 



ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 

Leaving Albany, the direct mode of proceeding is 
by railroad to Schenectady ; but the Rensselaer and 
Saratoga railroad will be completed in all the month of 
July, and then the general route will probably be by 
way of Troy and the Springs. From the Springs 
the traveller will pursue his journey to Buffalo by 
taking the railroad car for Schenectady, and there he 
takes his seat in the stage-coach.* The first village is 

Amsterdam, 16 miles west of Schenectady. This 
is a growing village, comprising now more than 100 
houses, a church, &c. A creek of some size passes 
through the village, and at a distance of about half a 
mile there are several beautiful falls. One mile far- 
ther is seen a stone house of singular construction, 
though lately modernized, which was formerly the 
residence of Guy Johnson, Esq. ; and a little beyond 
it, on the opposite side of the road, that of Sir John, 
son of the celebrated Sir William Johnson. Four 
miles farther is Tripes, or 

Tribes Hill, on the summit of which is a small 
village. From here six miles travel takes you to the 
village of 

Caughnawaga. This is a small villag-e with few 



* The contractors are actively engaged in the construction of 
the railroad from Schenectady to Utica, as will be seen, and it 
will be finished in the autumn of 1S36. 
I 



98 ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 

attractions. The most remarkable feature in it is 
" the Stone Chm-ch," a building of antique and hum- 
ble appearance. 

Johnstown lies 4 miles north-east from here, and 
was the residence of Sir William Johnson, whose 
name is rendered celebrated from his long residence 
with the Indians of this country, and the extraordi- 
nary influence he obtained over them. The stage 
arrives at 

Palatine, 12 miles from Caughnawaga, and a 
change of coach and horses takes place.* Proceed- 
ing from here, 6 miles takes you to the 

" Palatine Church^'''' where there is a post-office, 
tavern, &c. 

Oppenheim is a small village five miles farther on 
the road ; and 9 miles beyond is the village of 

Little Falls. The growth of this place, though 
not rapid, is steady and certain. It comprises about 
300 houses and 2000 inhabitants, who are an indus- 
trious people, and generally engaged in profitable 
pursuits. Previous to driving into the village, the 
stage crosses a bridge over a deep gulf, which, with 
the wild character of the country, presents an un- 
commonly picturesque scene. 

Beautiful quartz crystals have been found in abun- 
dance in this vicinity. Leaving the village the Old 
Canal (by means of which the batteaux of the Mo- 
hawk overcame the falls, previous to the construc- 
tion of the Erie Canal) is seen near the road. It 
has eight locks, but they are now in a very decayed 
state. Passing over the beautiful flat land of the 
Mohawk, known as the German Flats, which was in- 

* The village of Canajoharie is directly across the river from 
here, and is connected by a bridge. 



ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 99 

vaded by the French, and laid waste by fire and 
sword in 1756 and '57, the stage soon arrives at and 
crosses West Canada Creek, by means of a substan- 
tial bridge. 

Herkoier is 8 miles west of Little Falls. There 
are here about 150 houses and 1000 inhabitants. A 
convention of delegates from the several counties 
meets here every two years, and nominates a candi- 
date for the gubernatorial chair of the state. A new 
court-house has recently been erected, the former 
one having been destroyed by fire. 

Frankfort — quite a flourishing little village — is 6 
miles above, on the opposite side of the river ; and 
9 miles farther takes you to the city of 

Utica. The following account is extracted from a 
Utica newspaper of April, 1835: — 

"Utica has a population of more than 10,000, a 
city charter, a well-organized corporation, a superior 
fire department, and a host of public officers. An 
important central post-office, with sixteen lines of 
stages, and ten daily mails — three lines of central 
packets. Three banks, eight insurance agencies, 
fourteen churches, twenty-five religious and charitable 
societies, seven literary, scientific, and musical so- 
cieties, and three libraries. One academy, two pub- 
lic schools, a gymnasium, a commercial lyceum, and 
two superior female schools, with a great variety of 
others. We have one term each of the United 
States District Court, the Supreme Court of New- 
York, and the Circuit Court. Four terms of the 
Vice-chancellor's Court, and twelve of the Surro- 
gate's. The offices of Clerk of the Northern Dis- 
trict, Clerk in the Supreme Court, Clerk in Chancery, 
and County Clerk are located here. Also, of the 



100 ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 

Vice-chancellor of the fifth circuit, and First Judge 
of the county of Oneida. Most of the ecclesiastical 
institutions of central New-York hold their annual, 
or some of their quarterly meetings here. We have 
two reading-rooms, a museum, a public garden, and 
baths. There are published weekly three political, 
two religious, and one miscellaneous papers ; and 
monthly, a literary magazine. We have two exten- 
sive flouring-mills, and a great number of manufac- 
tories. The annual manufacture of coopers' ware 
is $21,000; of millstones, $20,000; of building- 
stone, $20,000 ; and of many others in proportion. 
In the county, the amount of cotton annually con- 
sumed in the manufactories is 1,863,000^5.?. ; of 
wool, about 300,000^^5. ; and of rags, 50 tons ; 
but it is useless to enumerate. Our resources are 
great." 

For further account of Utica and Trenton Falls see 
page 53. 

New-Hartford is 4 miles from Utica; and 13 
miles farther the village of 

Vernon, which contains several mills and a glass 
manufactory. 5 miles beyond this is the old 

Oneida Castle. Formerly there was a settlement 
of Oneida and Tuscarora Indians at this place ; but 
the march of civilization has lately driven the little 
remnant of these once powerful tribes to a new hab- 
itation in the far west. Many of these Indians were 
volunteers to the state during the war. 

Lenox is 3 miles farther ; in reaching which, the 
road runs within a mile of 

Canistota, which is a beautiful village on the Erie 
Canal. 

Quality Hill is 3 miles from Lenox ; and 5 miles 
beyond it is the village of 



ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 101 

Chittenango. This place is quite celebrated for 
its manufactures of cotton, &c. Gypsum is found 
here in great abundance, as well as petrifactions and 
organic remains. The canal is one mile and a half 
distant ; and a feeder from the village gives great 
facilities for sending their produce and manufactures 
to market. 

A road passes from here direct to Syracuse, for 
which see canal route ; but we here follow the road to 

Manlius. Before reaching Manlius the road crosses 
a hill, from which a delightfully picturesque scene, 
embracing Oneida Lake, Onondaga Lake, and the vil- 
lage on Onondaga Hill, is presented. Manlius vil- 
lage comprises about 200 houses, 4 churches, 2 cot- 
ton manufactories, and several mills, on Limestone 
Creek. In the near vicinity are some pretty falls or 
cascades. Manlius is 4 miles beyond Chittenango ; 
and 6 miles farther is 

Jamesville. Near this place is a small lake of 
singular appearance and smell. The shores are bold 
and cragged, and rise abruptly from 100 to 200 feet 
above the level of the water, which has a dark-green 
colour, and sends forth a sulphurous smell. Four 
miles from here the stage crosses Onondaga Hol- 
low. A beautiful creek flows through the centre of 
the hollow, and forms part of the picture to which 
the grand councils of the Six Nations gave anima- 
tion, in days when they, truly the " lords of the soil," 
held undisputed sovereignty. But these days have 
passed away, and the little remnant of their " blasted 
race" will soon be swept 

" Down to oblivion dark and deep, 
With none their hopeless wrongs to weep." 

Onondaga Hill is 2 miles onward, and from its 
12 



102 ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 

summit you have a fine view of several pretty vil- 
lages, as Mrell as Onondaga Lake. 8 miles farther is 

Marcellus, a village containing about 80 houses. 
It is located in the valley of the Otisco, and near it 
are several unemployed, though very eligible water 
privileges. Water lime is very abundant. Near the 
village the trunk of a laige tree may be seen entirely 
petrified. 

Skeneateles is 6 miles farther. This village is 
beautifully located, and is, without doubt, " take it for 
all in all," one of the most pleasant and pretty places 
in the state. The population is from 1800 to 2000. 
There are here several manufactories and mills, be- 
sides many beautiful dwellings. Being located at the 
foot of the pretty little lake from which its name is 
derived, it enjoys a splendid view of the lake and its 
banks, which rise gently one hundred feet or more in 
the course of a mile from the water, presenting a 
beautiful and extended lawn, dotted here and there 
with pretty white farm-houses. The lake abounds 
with trout and other fish, is 16 miles long, and varies 
from "I to 2 miles in width. This lake, with its ver- 
dant banks and cultivated fields, its smiling orchards 
and neat-looking farm-houses, form a landscape which, 
for richness and beauty, is rarely met with. Petrifac- 
tions are found under the bluffs at the head of the lake. 
A small steamboat plies here. 7 miles farther and 
you enter the village of 

Auburn. This place contains about GOOO inhabit- 
ants, 6 churches, court-house, museum, theological 
seminary, bank, and the state prison, which cost 
about $300,000. Several new cells have been 
lately added to the prison. It is well worth while to 
visit this establishment, and witness the excellent 



ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 103 

discipL'ne of the concern, and the convicts engaged 
at their different trades. The prison contained 649 
convicts, Oct. 1st, 183 1 ; and the profits for the year 
preceding were about $5,000 over all contingent ex- 
penses. 

Weedsport, on the canal, is 7 miles distant, and 
stages run to and from there daily. Goods destined 
for Auburn are landed at Weedsport. 

Cayuga is 7 miles west of Auburn, and here you 
cross Cayuga Lake by means of a bridge, one mile 
and eight rods long. The lake is 38 miles long, and 
from one to two miles wide. Four miles west of 
here is the village of 

Seneca Falls, which is located on the bank of 
the Seneca river. The falls at this place have a de- 
scent of 46 feet, and afford line facilities for manu- 
factories, mills, &c., several of which are already in 
the full tide of successful operation, A side canal 
from here to Lakeport, on the Erie Canal, 20 miles dis- 
tant, in connection with the river, gives a water com- 
munication from Geneva to the western lakes and the 
ocean. 

Waterloo is 4 miles farther. This village only 
began its existence in 1816, It is located on the 
outlet of Seneca Lake, which here propels several 
mills, and renders the place rather an unpleasant 
rival of Seneca Falls. Travelling 7 miles farther, 
you reach the village of 

Geneva. This village is delightfully located on the 
western margin of Seneca Lake ; and the banks being 
high, it affords an extended view of the lake and 
adjacent country. The handsome dwelUngs in the 
village, with their charming hanging gardens on 



104 ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 

the margin of the lake — the splendid country-seats 
and cultivated farms — and the fine roads, or a trip in 
the steamer Geneva — each and all conspire to render 
a short stay here any thing but disagreeable. The 
population is about 4000. Besides the other public 
institutions, a Medical College has been established 
lie re. 

The lake is 35 miles long, by 3 to 4 in width, and 
it never freezes. The Geneva plies daily to and 
from Jeffersonville, at the head of the lake. A lat- 
eral canal is cut from here to the Erie Canal. 

Canandaigua is 15 miles farther, and being located 
on elevated ground, it commands a fine view of the 
lake from which it takes name. - The inhabitants here 
are generally wealthy, and have displayed much taste 
in the construction of their dwelhngs (many of which 
are uncommonly beautiful) and the arrangement of 
their gardens. There are here several fine public 
buildmgs, among which the Episcopal church will be 
noticed. A steam flouring-mill is in operation here. 
The lake lies south of the village, is 14 miles in 
length, from 1 to 2 in width, and has a steamboat 
running on it. 

From here the road diverges, and travellers have 
a choice of two routes, one via Rochester, 28 miles 
northwesterly (for description see page 61), and 
from there by the Ridge road to Lewiston, 74 miles ; 
and thence along the bank of the Niagara River to 
the Falls, 7 miles ; and 23 miles farther to Buffalo. 
Total from Canandaigua to Buffalo, 132 miles. Pro- 
ceeding by the direct route, you reach Bloomfield, 9 
miles ; and 5 miles farther is West Bloomfield, both 
of which are rich agricultural towns, and produce a 
great abundance of fruit. 



ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 105 

Lima is 4 miles farther, and 12 miles beyond is 
the village of 

Avon Springs. This place has of late years be- 
come quite celebrated, by reason of the medicinal 
qualities of two springs near by, which are strongly 
impregnated with sulphur and alum. Avon is the 
resort of the votary of pleasure, as well as of the in- 
valid who seeks health, and was particularly so last 
season, when many were prevented from visiting 
Canada, &c., in consequence of the prevalence of 
cholera. The seasons have no effect on these springs, 
the amount of water discharged being always the 
same.* 

Caledonia is 8 miles west of Avon ; and passen- 
gers generally have time while the stage waits to 
visit a curious large spring. The discharge from 
this spring is so great that several mills are pro- 
pelled by its waters. 

Le Roy is 6 miles farther. Allen's Creek passes 
through the village. The village has a commanding 
location, contains about 400 buildings, and is in a 
very thriving condition. Much of its prosperity is 
due to the mills which have been erected on the 
creek. 10 miles beyond this is 

Batavia. The capital of Genesee county. It has 
a court-house, a bank, the Holland Company's office, 

* A celebrated physician, describing these springs, says, — 
" The value of these waters has within the last few years been 
justly and highly appreciated. They may be ranked among the 
most powerful remedial waters yet made known ; but, like other 
active medicinal agents of similar character, they are hable to 
great abuse. Possessing active emetic and cathartic proper- 
ties, it is requisite that caution be exercised not to indulge too 
freely at first ; and they also demand that, previous to their use, 
the system should, in some cases at least, be first relieved by 
some efficient cathartic." 



106 ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 

&c. There are here many fine-looking buildings, 
but all seems dull and gloomy. Business does not 
appear to be the object of people here. This was 
the residence of the unfortunate William Morgan, who 
was abducted from liis home, and confined in the 
magazine at Fort Niagara, by a mob, who charged 
him with revealing the secrets of free-masonry. 

From the fort his fate could never be traced, but 
he is supposed to have been drowned in the Niagara 
river. 

This matter produced a great excitement through- 
out the state, and founded a political party called 
Anti-masons. Little is now heard of either masons 
or anti-masons. Tonnewanta Creek runs along the 
north side of the village. Passing through several 
small unimportant places, 40 miles from Batavia you 
arrive at Buffalo. (For description see page 64.) 

Distance from Canandaigua to Buffalo, 90 miles. 




014 108 009 A 




